Bellflowers, sometimes called harebells, belong to the genus Campanula, named for the bell-shaped flowers they bear. Encompassing over 500 species and subspecies, bellflowers includes tall upright forms to creeping ground covers. Native to temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, most hail from the Mediterranean and Asia, with a few native to North America.
No matter; hardy campanula are both beautiful and easily grown. Let’s look at some of the more commonly available varieties.
Despite their diversity, all campanulas have bell-shaped flowers for which they are named. (Campanula is Latin for “little bell”). They are most often blue or purple; a few come in pink or white.
Here are four choices for the mid-border and three short ones for the rockery or front border.
Canterbury Bells (Campanula medium) – The most “bell-like” of the group, these magestic biennials produce deep cups with a scalloped edge in their second year. (In Persian, their name translates as “glass flower” because the blooms resemble a drinking glass.) They can be pink, blue, white, light plum or deep violet. Medium tall at around 30 inches, they bloom from May to July in the eastern US. They are wonderful for the border and a classic for English-style cottage gardens. My neighbor has them in a front bed where they never fail to impress.
Peach-leaved Bellflower (Campanula persicifolia) This cultivar is beloved for its cups of purest white (Alba) or periwinkle blue (Telham Beauty) on slender 20-inch-tall stems. Biennial, this bellflower will sometimes self-seed but not reliably. It flowers from May to July. I really covet both of these! Alba always looks so fresh.
There is also a “Takion” series that is similar but about half as tall.
Milky Bellflower (Campanula lactifolia) – A tall perennial at 40 to 48 inches high, this old-fashioned favorite has masses of starry florets borne in clusters like phlox. As the name implies it is usually white or pale blue, but Prichard’s Variety is violet-blue. Milky bellflower makes an excellent companion to lilies, coneflowers and sneezeweed. It flowers July to September. Cut back after flowering to prevent self-seeding.
Spotted Bellflower (Campanula punctata nana) – Clusters of nodding elongated bells hang from foot-tall foliage. The plum-colored bells are subtly spotted inside and rimmed in white. This perennial is ridiculously easy to grow. Too easy, actually; the ever-expanding colony can spread aggressively unless controlled. If you place it in half to mostly shade the spread is quite manageable.
Serbian or Trailing Bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana) – This delightful creeper is perfect for tucking between boulders, into paving cracks and sunny wall crevices. While hardy to zone 4 once established, it performs best where winters are a bit warmer than zone 6. It grows 4 inches tall to about 3 feet wide, and will quickly establish.
Numerous cultivars exist including Blue Waterfall. Most are blue or purple and bloom from late spring into midsummer. A sweet choice.
Carpathian Harebell (Campanula carpatica) – Neat dense mounds 6 to 8 inches tall cover themselves in a froth of open cups all summer. Cultivars come in sky blue (Rapido Blue) or white (Rapido White). The flowers are borne singly but prolificially from June to August. A lovely selection! This variety needs moist, well drained soil that doesn’t dry out.
Dalmation or Wall Bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana) – Here is a vigorous, scrambling groundcover of purple stars just 4 inches tall and 20 inches wide. Similar to Serbian bellflower, it flowers June to August. Great for edging paths or as a “spiller” atop walls. Super color!
A delicate wildflower for woodlands
American or Tall Bellflower (Campanula americana) – This North American native thrives in shady woodlands where it will reach 3 to 6 feet tall. Unusual for a bellflower, the flowers are flat rather than bell-shaped. The flower is a light sky blue with a white throat, very delicate and does not self-seed reliably.
The specimen shown above is flowering for the first time after being planted this spring in my woodland edge. I’m told this variety can be annual or biennial. It has a quiet beauty.
Growing Campanulas
The trickiest thing about bellflowers is they need moist but not too fertile soil and good air circulation. They dislike high humidity and heat, and will flop or die if there’s too much of either.
Fortunately I found that ordinary amended garden soil (preferably neutral to slightly alkaline) is perfectly adequate for most bellflowers. The main killer is usually too much water, so mix in some grit at planting time as a hedge against the wet. If possible, provide a bit of shade during the hottest part of the day.
The one trait that’s perhaps the most frustrating is many bellflowers just don’t have very long lifespans. They are biennials. If they last a season or two, great. If a particular plant lasts three years or more, it’s beating the odds. Beyond three years is icing on the cake, as they say.
Because of this I sometimes do without, but I always miss them (especially Alba, the white peach-leaved one). To me, bellflowers are a small luxury because they sometimes die their first winter before they get a chance to flower. I always feel lucky when they come back in spring and proceed to bloom their hearts out. Careful deadheading helps with flowering, too. Remove each spent flower, not the whole stem, or you will remove developing buds.
So do consider trying a bellflower or two. They are, aftler all, a way of continuing a tradition that goes back centuries. Harebells? How did that wacky name come about, anyway? I envision monks chasing marauding rabbits out of ancient monastery gardens straight through the dangling, jiggling bellflower patch…
These days, that’s a comforting thought.
