This morning at sunrise, I went to Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area in northern Virginia to shoot the Virginia bluebells that grow wild on the forest floor. It was a cool 46 degrees and overcast. The filtered light worked well for shooting the bluebells, but a blue sky in the background to compliment the color of the flowers would have been better. The bluebells were in bloom in many areas, but they have not peaked yet. That should happen this week around Wednesday, and I will be out there again.
Few blues in nature rival the Virginia bluebells. They grow in single clumps or in stands of thousands along Cedar Run, a creek at Merrimac Farm. The blossoms are pink in bud, changing to varying shades of blue as they mature, and returning to pink following pollination. A few remain pink, but not many.
The blue, bell-shaped flowers hang in nodding clusters. Each is about an inch long and has a narrow funnel-shaped tube broadening to a shallow bell with a scalloped edge. The bluebells only appear for about two to three weeks in early spring/April when the weather conditions are right and before the trees get their leaves and shade the forest floor.
Below are a few photos from this morning. More can be found in a gallery on my website just for the bluebells at: http://stabone.com/p1007343060
Stephen L Tabone Nature Photography 
Are they as fragrant as they are beautiful? Who does the weeding? LOL! Loved all the photos in your gallery especially the close-ups of the flowers … and who knew that there were “pink” bluebells? Enjoyed reading about your visit and all the information, too. Good luck on Wednesdays trip back there … hope Mother Nature cooperates with you and you have blue skies, too.
The bluebells are not fragrant, at least to my nose. I was there again today for most of the day having “volunteered” to lead tours along a one mile trail to see the bluebells at Marrimac’s annual Bluebell Festival. My afternoon tour was for about 30 cub scouts and their parents/families. The Executive Director asked me to take them out because, as she put it, they will not know whether you accurately describe the environment and flora, since they would not know the difference and most likely would not be listening anyway. It was fun, but I was glad when it ended.
LOL! But at least you got to go out among the beautiful flora again.