Bluebells and woodlands

You may think it is a strange time of year to be talking about bluebells, but now is a good time to collect bluebell seed and that is one of the reasons we went to Raheens wood, near Castlebar in Co Mayo (http://www.coillteoutdoors.ie/index.php?id=171&rec_site=168&activity=&no_cache=1) over the weekend.

Raheens Wood

Raheens wood, is a semi natural woodland dating from about 1840. There is hazel, birch, ash and rowan trees and some oak including a relatively recently planted area of oak.

Raheens wood

We collected bluebell seed here last year too, and planted it in pots which we then placed in our own woodland. They did germinate and grow, but we’ll have to be patient as it will take anything from 3-7 years before they will flower. It is important never to dig bluebell bulbs up from the wild. The seed we collected this time we have both scattered in our wood and sown into two large pots.

Ivy on tree trunk

It’s a lovely wood for a walk, plenty to see at any time of year.