A blanket of bluebells

This weekend, I had a little time to myself because my husband had taken our two girls out of town to visit his parents. Our boys are pretty much self-sufficient, so I took advantage of a Saturday morning to go for a hike.

I have absolutely been loving the spring weather this past week, and I wanted to take some photos of the blooming trees. I drove over to a wooded nature area that’s not far from my house. When I pulled up, I could see that most of the trees in the woods were covered in green blooms. I was really looking for trees that were blooming in vibrant purples and pinks or blossoms of white. I debated whether to even get out of my car.
What the heck? I had time, so I ventured into the forest.

I hadn’t walked far before I saw an amazing canopy of blue covering the ground under the trees. I would find out later they were bluebells. I’ve lived in Illinois my entire life, and I did not know that bluebells would grow here.

My blogger friends, Sues, always writes about the bluebells in Texas, so I thought they must be something you only see in the south.

I know where I can go to find a glade covered in daffodils in the spring. And I’ve always wanted to visit the fields of tulips that bloom the first weekend of May in Holland, Michigan. But I’ve never heard or even seen photos of bluebells in this area.

I sat down in the middle of the tall flowers to take some photos and realized they smell as pretty as they look. I took deep breathes, inhaling the scent of honeysuckle. If I had a book and a blanket, I literally could have sat there all day. But eventually, I needed to move on.

That’s when I saw an even larger blanket of bluebells covering the forest floor. Behind it was a private residence with a picture perfect barn reflected in a pond. I was in photography heaven for a while longer.

I was planning to take prom photos for some friends later the same day, and I almost texted them to ask if they wanted to move their photo shoot to this wooded area. I knew it would be too far of a drive with all they had planned, so I didn’t make the suggestion.
When we arrived at the park we had already planned, guess what was awaiting us?

Yep. More bluebells!


Well, bluebells are for sure my new favorite. I’m so thankful I just happened to find them during the short window that they are in full bloom.

If you haven’t seen them, take the time to find some this spring! I promise it’s worth the effort!