Bluebells

Warmth finally arrives in Northern Ireland. The shift happened last week in the middle. I could sense it happening as I walked my usual two kilometers up the hill to my workplace every day. All of a sudden everything is brighter in colors. Trees are greener, flowers are blooming and the dark brown, usually gloomy sea is turning blue and appears more friendly. I kept thinking of how badly I miss untouched nature and about my need to get away from human beings and screens even if for a few hours.  

So off to the forest I went. The best timing as it turned out. Forest was full of fairy enchantments and bird songs. It was wonderful to close my eyes, to hear how joyful they sounded and to take some energy from the trees all around me. Being close to nature is essential to me. I will trade in perfectly mowed lawns and paved pathways for dirt roads further away from the civilization any time. Fairies didn’t have to lure me deeper into the forest at all. I went willingly.


What are these aliens? Ferns are waking up and slowly losing their brown, fur winter coats.



What’s happening here? Everything’s blue. This is where the fairies are having their gathering, but close your human ears. If a human hears bluebells ringing, the death will soon pay them a visit. As I said before, they did not have to lure me. However, I was absolutely compelled to look at the endless fields of the bright blue on every step and I could feel my cheeks finally forming a bit of a smile. Definitely, some strange fairy magic going on!


Bluebells or Hyacinthoides non-scripta metamorph the woodlands into carpets of blue as soon as it gets warmer and more sunlight reaches the soil at the springtime. While they provide bees, bumblebees, and butterflies with delicious nectar as a food source, they are quite poisonous to humans and animals if consumed. At the same time, it was interesting to read as I wrote this post that back in the old days they were used in the traditional medicine for conditions such as leprosy. In a way, it makes sense since sometimes even nowadays treatment for various, deadly illnesses is a controlled dose of poison.




The more I found out about the somewhat dark folklore about Bluebells, the more I wonder. Perhaps, people got lost not because of fairies, but because they consumed them and died? Or, the stories were to keep people away from these beautiful yet poisonous plants? They say there is some truth in all old tales.