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The challenge of bluebells - 31st May 2021
I love bluebells, I always think of them as my birth flower. For years I aspired to having some in the garden because I find them so uplifting and beautiful.
Now, bluebells look glorious and appear to be quite dainty but don't be fooled!
If they find a spot in your garden that they love they will multiply rapidly. This might sound like a good thing, but after a few years I found myself with some quite congested clumps of these bulbs. Worse still, in one area they were crowding out perennials that were sending up hopeful spring shoots.
For a while I was torn. I loved the display put on by the bluebells but I was less keen on their thug like qualities. In the end I decided to be ruthless. I removed all but a few bulbs because I didn't want to end up completely overwhelmed by these plants. It was a tough decision. Especially as I ended up putting the surplus plants into the garden wheelie bin. It seemed a bit cruel. Then I remembered all the woods I can visit to see bluebells en masse. I don't need to have huge swathes of bluebells in my garden. A few is plenty just for that blast of clear blue at the beginning of May. I had enjoyed this year's flowers, but when the leaves began to die back at the end of last month I realised they looked a bit of a mess due to the sheer quantity.
Bluebells and the clutter connection
You might have briefly wondered if you were reading a gardening blog! I do love my garden, but no, this is not really about my garden at all. I realised a few days after I'd cleared the surplus bluebells that this situation was not dissimilar to the challenges we get faced with when decluttering.
You might have a large quantity of something at home that you absolutely love. It might be one specific category of item such as a collection or it might be you have, say, masses of books, or whatever. You amass these things because you love them. At some point though you have to make a decision. Do you allow the items you love to take over your entire living space? Or do you rein them in?
This is always your choice of course but notice how your passion for one thing might compromise the other things you want to appreciate and enjoy. One of those things might even be "space".
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