The Flower Bin: Bellflowers bring color to your summer garden

Bellflower is the common name for a group of plants with bell shaped flowers known as campanula. Campanula takes both its common name and its scientific name from its bell shaped flowers. Campanula is Latin for “little bell”.

Campanula colors include blue, violet, purple and white. Campanulas generally begin to bloom in late spring and continue through the summer, into fall. Removing flowers that have faded or died will encourage more blooms.

Regular fertilization with a balanced fertilizer such as Fertilome 20-20-20 every 10-14 days will help bloom production. Campanulas are a very diverse group of plants. They can be grown in pots on the patio, as groundcover and in perennial beds. They do best when planted in full sun or dappled shade. As with any plant, your success with campanula will depend on the quality of your soil, so take time now to amend your existing soil with compost and peat moss, mixed 50:50 with your native soil.