Campanula medium blue-flowered

Campanula medium blue-flowered, also known as the Canterbury bells or bellflower, is a plant that is more biennial than perennial, but in either case, it is a beautiful wildflower with spectacular flowering. Taking its time to establish, it has bell-shaped, single flowers, of a candid blue-violet carried by sturdy stems in late spring or early summer. Undemanding and fully hardy, this plant native to the southern regions of Europe easily establishes itself in the garden, even in woodlands and rocky slopes. It is an ideal plant for shady, wild areas and its flowers last a long time in bouquets.

Also known as the great bellflower or Canterbury bells in the UK, this beautiful ornamental plant belongs to the family of bellflowers. It is a widespread wild species in our woods and rocky fields. This sturdy biennial plant with a thick and hard root adapts to difficult growing conditions and offers remarkable summer flowering that lasts from May to July depending on the climate. The first year it produces a basal rosette composed of narrow, ovate-lanceolate, dark green leaves. The second or third year sees the emergence of strong, solid, round stems, about 80 cm (32in) in height, which do not generally require staking. They bear large, single bell-shaped flowers, 3 to 6 cm (1 to 2in) long and slightly hairy, gracefully drooping, with rolled-up edges, somewhat resembling the flowers of climbing cobaea. Often blue-violet in the species, they adopt a wide range of colours, ranging from white to pink, and various shades of blue, depending on the cultivars.

The Campanula medium is above all a beautiful wild plant, perfectly adapted to most climates, which contributes to the biodiversity of our gardens. As such, it has a place in a natural flowerbed, in a rather semi-shaded position, where one does not mind it spreading. It will be perfect in the company of other beautiful wildflowers: mulleins, Spanish lavender (Centranthus ruber), wild chicory, sainfoin, purple coneflower, fennel, field scabious, meadowsweet, hemp-nettle, perennial sweet peas, or lady's mantle. Its simplicity works well alongside the roundness of old roses and softens the heavy corollas of very red peonies. Its flowers will remain beautiful for several days in a vase when picked. This allows for wonderful wild bouquets by combining them with foxgloves, for example.

About bellflowers:

In bellflowers, the root grows white stolons that spread underground in all directions. They ensure the long-term perenniality of the plant. The numerous upright stems that arise from this root or stolons are either fertile or sterile. Thus, when one sees a large population of bellflowers, there is often only the clone of a single individual. On the other hand, different species of bellflowers hybridize very easily with each other and are often accompanied by a whole range of intermediate forms, which makes them very interesting for horticulturists.