Bluebells bloom early in Hole Park Gardens, Rolvenden.

by Chris Price

It seems the drought - and the rains - have not totally ruined Kent's bluebell season.

The season was predicted to be a short one this year due to the early warm weather in March.

At this time of year, a wander in Kent’s woodlands usually sees ramblers treading on a sea of purple, but the strong, sweet scent will not last long this year.

Bluebells in Stede Hill Wood in Harrietsham. Picture: Ruth Cuerden

The third warmest and fifth driest March on record has sped up the flowering process – but the lack of rain until the recent downpours means they will wilt more quickly.

But as our pictures show, there has been a sea of blue in certain hotspots.

Bluebells depend on warm ground temperatures to help them grow and are normally, but not exclusively, found in old woodland, thick old hedges, bracken-covered hillsides and sea cliffs.

Normally, bluebells peak in a Mexican wave effect across the country, starting in the south west fanning out across the UK.

Another bluebell hotspot is Hole Park, near Cranbrook, which has its own approach towards making sure visitors see the best of its bluebells.

The 15-acre garden’s website (www.holepark.com) has a bluebell barometer, showing when the flowers are coming into bloom, on a scale of one to four.

The National Trust is asking people to monitor bluebell sightings through an interactive Bluebell Watch map at ww.nationaltrust.org.uk/bluebellwatch

Twitter users can tweet the first part of their postcode and the hashtag #bluebellwatch to populate the map with sightings, photography and information on when the best time to see bluebells is.

BLUEBELL HOTSPOTS

Chartwell, near Westerham

Emmetts Garden, near Ide Hill

The woods around Ightham Mote

Mariners Hill, near Edenbridge

The woods around Sissinghurst Castle

Hole Park Gardens, near Cranbrook

For details, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk or www.holepark.com

Have you got pictures of bluebells from this season? Send them to multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk, stating where they were taken.