The bluebells are truly finished. They won’t be mentioned again until next year. So what’s replacing them? Well, don’t expect such fantastic sheets of colour in the woods themselves, now they’re becoming increasingly shady but around the fringes and in the glades foxgloves will begin to bloom. Some of the best are on the Oldbury, Ide Hill, Hosey Hill, One Tree Hill and Underriver walks. Red campion, stitchword, wild garlic (brilliant on the One Tree Hill walks on the path to Ightham Mote) and soon orchids are the other main contenders. If you missed the bluebells, don’t worry – there are plenty of vivid hues to come on the walks but they’ll be more dotted about a bit. The orchids are my favourites – but we’ll talk about that later. Having said all that, we will need some rain …