CAMPANULA. Bellflower. Widespread, Northern Hemisphere. Showy perennials of variable habit, many of them well adapted for rock garden and container use. Most have attractive basal foliage and bright, bell to saucer shaped flowers, their shades ranging from violet or deep pink to white. Most are winter-deciduous. Sun or part shade, most soils, regular watering for most species. Hardy to 0oF. or below, except as noted. Why do we grow so many? Don’t ask.
cochlearifolia. A ground-hugging plant with small round, shiny leaves and many 1/2" blossoms nodding on 6" stems in late summer. The typical form has violet flowers, while those of the variety alba are snow white.
glomerata. Quite distinctive in texture, this species typically has basal clusters of large rabbit ear leaves and tall (2' or more) blooming stems along which purple bell shaped blossoms are arranged in dense, separated clusters. The variety acaulis is atypical with congested growth, displaying its flowers in massive clusters 6" tall or less. ‘Joan Elliott’ displays 2' stems of vivid purple flowers. The seed strain ‘Crown of Snow’ has slightly shorter stems, very large clusters and pure white blossoms.
latifolia. This is one of the classic tall bellflowers. As the species name suggests, it has crowns of broad basal leaves, each up to 6" long. From them rise stems as much as 3’ tall, carrying many broad 2" bells. These range in color from violet to pure white. We have developed strains representing both extremes. The show begins in late spring, and with cutting of the spent flower stems before the seed pods develop, can be renewed several times over the course of a season.
orphanidea (?). We generally try to avoid offering biennial plants, given the disappointment that can follow their demise. However, this one was too beautiful to avoid. Since it sets good quantities of seeds, and the seeds are easily grown when planted during the cool season, my conscience is clear. The plants make low mounds of broad, scallop-edged, quite grey leaves (unusual for a campanula) in their first year. In late spring and summer of the second they produce branched stems carrying many broad pale lavender bells, somewhat pinched just behind the flared tips. Everyone should have one.
persicifolia, Peach-leaved bluebell, is a robust species, useful in the perennial border. It forms basal clumps of narrow, thick-textured, shiny leaves, graced in spring and summer by tall (2’ or more), branching stems of 1" bowl shaped blossoms. There are several good seed strains with large purple flowers, and ‘Alba’ and others with white flowers. ‘Chettle Charm’ is a recent introduction with distinctly bicolored flowers, lavender-blue overall with broad cream-white centers.
pulla is one of the parents of C. x pulloides, below, possibly even prettier (at least in this selection) than the hybrid. It forms a dense, low mat with small, dark green leaves. Nodding, bright purple bells about 3/4" long are borne just above the leaves in summer. Hardy to 0oF or less.
x pulloides. This hybrid involves the last and C. carpatica turbinata (see above). It looks like a miniature version of turbinata, except that the 3/4" purple blossoms are nodding rather than upfacing. A fine little plant for containers or the rock garden.
rotundifolia. This species occurs in higher mountains of much of the northern hemisphere. Our selection was encountered in the Marble Mountains of northern California. It forms a 2" high hummock of pointed oval leaves, sending up airy 6-10" stems of violet bellflowers in summer and fall. A fine rock garden plant.
trachelium. Nettle-leaved bellflower. This is a stout plant forming dense crowns of broad, scallop-edged leaves. Both these and the 1-3’ stems are set with bristly hairs. Broad lavender to white bells are borne in dense, branched clusters in summer.