llU.sll CiAUDENlNC 



Smaller Campanulas for the 

 Rock Garden. 



I!\ Ml 



V II 



Ca.mi'AM'LAS ;iiv not umIn anmiij,' (lie iiinst 

 Ix-autifiil Idit also aiiitniK (li>' niosl iiulis|niisaljli' 

 nl" r.xk plants. The iiiajniit y «>1" tlu-m llowt-r 

 at a time when must of tin- carlici- alpiiics aic 

 " p'iiij,' olT," aiul our .nai-dciis would look ilo\\,l\ 

 and i)an' witliout thi- drifts of blue, i)Vir|)l(.- and 

 wliitr Campanulas to brighten tlu-m. Fortunately 

 most of thi-m are i-jusy to grow, sueeeeding in 

 • >rdinary gardi-n soil. ' Some re(iuire attention 

 lo tlieii" requir.-ments as to soil or situation, and 

 a few are ganlent-rs' ])roblems that rejoice the 

 hearts of those wlio sucet-ed in throwing tliem well. 



With few t-xeejitions the ('am|)anula.s suitable 

 for iirowini,' in roek gardi-ns are i[warf or elose 

 t,'rowhiK ; till- majority of the taller ('ami)anulas 

 are loo eoarse and lloppy to groAV near smaller 

 jilanls. and as most of them d<> e(|ually well in 

 the borth-r. theie is no use overerowdin^ the 

 roekery witli tliem. and it is tlierefori' to the 

 smaller ('ami)aiiulas that 1 will eonllne my 

 attention in these notes. 



The re(iuirenients of very man\ of them are 

 easily satisliod. Ciiveu a well-ilralned soli in an 

 open situation in sun or shade they will soon 

 make themselves at home, and reijuire no atten- 

 tion beyond oeeasional division. As a general 

 rule, those making tajjroots reituire an especially 

 well -drained. ><tony soil, and enjoy rock chinks or 

 .racks in a wall. These also grow well in 

 moranir, provided that their roots are not 

 parched in summer. 1 llnd that most Cani- 

 panuhus have a hankering after rich soil, but the 

 taprooted .si)ecies, after making line growth in it 

 during the summer, are liable to rot oil' in winter; 

 they seem to object to tlie wet winter soil clinging 

 round their roots, and rot away at the collar, 

 in a rock crevice or wall they escape this excess 

 t)f surface moistui'e, but as the number of such 

 positions is, naturally, limited in one's garden, 1 

 luive, to a very large extent, overcome my 

 (lilficidties by ])lanting these Cairipaimlas in beds 

 or i)ockets of ordinary well-drained loam with a 

 lopdressing — 2 or more inclics in depth — of 

 )}>irv saitil or, in some cases, of limestone cliips. 

 13 y these means the Campanulas are able to 

 enjoy the strong soil without endangering their 

 " collars " in winter. As to the comjjosition of 

 the soil, I have very little to say. Campanulas 

 are often described as "lime-haters" or "lime- 

 lovers." My exi)eriencc is that the majority of 

 them are quite indifferent to the absence or 

 presence of lime. C. excisa seems to i)erish even 

 more readily in lime, and therefore cannot be 

 termed a " lime-lover." All other Cami)anvUas 

 with me, at least, tolerate it. 



Our own native Ilairbell — C. rotundifolia — 

 has naturally the first (iaim upon our considera- 

 tion. Its requirements are few — an open situa- 

 tion and a soil not too heavy. Given these, it 

 will romi) around, sow itself freely, and in time 

 become almost a weed, for every-vvhere ai-ound 

 the parent plant will ai)])ear seedlings bearing 

 bells of varied tints of blue. Xo other Cam- 

 paniila, I think, varies to such an extent as 

 C. rotundifolia. Scarcely any two plants are 

 identical in growth and shape and colour of 

 flower. Many of its local variations liave 

 received distinguishmg names, but the drawback 



to all these local forms is their liability in cul- 

 ti\ation, to revert to tile type. The most 

 eonstanl. and distinct form possible is C. valdensLs 

 with grey, hairv foliage and wide bells of deep 

 violet. Tbe tru<' C. linifolia seems hard to get 

 hold of. 1 believe that the round basal leaves of 

 the tvpe should be almost eiitirelv absent in this 

 form.* and the llovvr stems tall and erect. There 

 is a plant 1 got from Lissadell as C. .Marchesetti 

 which fullils all these re(piirements, and is 

 probably the true C. linifolia. 1 have a some- 

 what similar but duarfer plant bearing deeper 

 purple bells -usually singly — which 1 received 

 uniler the name of ('. Ven/Joi. 'I'he plant usually 

 sent out. as ('. linifolia is as lIop|iy as the ty|>e. 



Arndlier distinct form is C. ('arnica with long 

 and narrow trumpets of pale lilac. C. Hcheuzeri, 

 in its nativi' habitat, is a line moisture-loving 

 form with large opeJi bells ; in cultivation it 

 |)reserves its liking for moist places, but seems to 

 lose its other (list inctive cliaracteristics. C. liostii 

 is much taller and logger in every way than the 

 ty|)e. C. Alaskana has very big iLroo|)ing bells, and 

 ])rcfers light soil and hot exjiosures. C. lieau- 

 vardiana, C. Baumgarteiii and C. Scouleri Uf i 

 have it true) are indistinct forms, but 1 saw a very 

 distinct plant at Ulasnevin with flowers of deep 

 l)ure Prussian blue vnider the name of C. r<dimdi- 

 folia splendens. C. Htenocodon is an ali)me 

 foriu from the granite moraines in tlie Ali»es 

 Maritimes. It runs about freely here in lim;^- 

 stone moraine, and is very dwarf and comjiait, 

 but my plants, although raised from collected 

 seed, liave not " narrow constricted trumpets "' 

 as described by Mi: Farrer. Most of these 

 rotundifolia varieties have white forms, of which 

 that of C. valdensis (which seeded white for the- 

 lirst time in my garden last year) is, 1 think, the 

 best ; its flowers are excei)tionally large and ) 

 Ijure. Other good white forms are those of C 

 Ilostii and C. Imifolia (dubia). There are also 

 two semi-double forms, oi which I much prefer 

 Mon. Corrcvons " fl. ])!." to the form known as 

 " Soldanellaj flora pi." C. Macrorhiza is of 

 rotundifolia blood, but quite distmct : it makes 

 a fleshy root stock, from which it throws out 

 branching stems bearing for a long period good 

 sized rather widely opened flowers of lilac i)ink. 

 In its native habitat it llowers throughout the 

 winter, and Mr. Farrer stated that it retained 

 this characteristic in his garden, Init here 1 have 

 never seen it in flower after the end of .Se])tember. 



The next largest group revolves round C. 

 garganica. Tlie type has crinkly heart-shaped 

 leaves and very wide, open, starry-blue flowers 

 produced all along the runner-like stems which it 

 throws out from its centre. With one exception, 

 all forms of C. garganica 1 have come across 

 prefer tight, horizontal chmks and sunny 

 exposures. The so-called C. Erinus is a minute 

 form of C. gai-ganica with small flowers of ])ale 

 China blue ; it is the best doer of the section, and 

 is indistructably hardy. C garganica vars. 

 villosa and hirsuta have downy foliage and 

 rather washy flowers. Var. fenestrellata has 

 flowers of a distinct lavender mauve. Var. 

 W. II. Paine has beautiful foliage of a deep, dull 

 green and very dark violet flowers with a disthict 

 white eye ; it is rarely out of blossom, and an 

 absohitely indis]jensable Campanula ; it i)refers 

 cool exposures in light sandy leaf-mould and 

 peat. There are white forms of C. garganica 

 and var. hirsuta, t)f which the fli-st is the most 

 di'sirable. 



