August. 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



11 



botanical friends were when I proposed to 

 divide all the Campanulas into two groups 

 — the tall or border kinds, and the dwarf 

 or rock garden kinds, instead of classifying 

 them according to capsules, stigmas and 

 other respectable characters. Neverthe- 

 less it is most important to distinguish 

 between the kinds that everybody can 

 grow, and the kinds which require a rock 

 garden, for very few of us can afford a 

 good rock garden. 



There are only two of these dwarf 

 bellflowers which I am sure everyone 

 can grow. The more popular is the Car- 

 pathian bellflower (C. Carpatica) which 

 makes a dense mat of foliage about eight 

 inches high, from which it sends up a 

 multitude of wiry stems to a height of 

 twelve to eighteen inches. (See No. 7). 

 Nobody ought to have the face to call 

 himself a gardener who does not know 

 and love this plant. It is the best of all 

 the bellflowers for edging hardy borders 

 because it can hold its own against taller 

 plants, whereas it would be risky or more 

 expensive to expose the other dwarf 

 species to such competition. 



An interesting variety of it is var. 

 turbinala, which is incorrectly called "tur- 

 ban bellflower" in some catalogues. The 

 name turbinata means "top-shaped," re- 

 ferring to the flowers, which are more like 

 an inverted cone than a bell. The variety 

 G. F. Wilson is a hybrid between this 

 top-shaped bellflower and the darkest 

 flowered of all Campanulas, viz. C. pulla, 

 having the big flowers of the first parent 

 and dark foliage of the latter. The largest 

 flower of the turbinata type is said to be 

 the variety Hendersoni. 



This Carpathian harebell is lovely in 

 all its colors and forms, it gives scattering 

 bloom all summer and it is the most per- 

 manent of all the dwarf bellflowers. 



Second only to the Carpathian harebell 

 is the tufted harebell (C. caspitosa) which 

 grows only four to six inches high and has 

 a flower that is less broadly bell-shaped. 

 It has bloomed from June 6th to October 

 20th at Ottawa. It is the same thing as 

 C. pumila, and I have never found C. 

 pusilla any different, though the nursery- 

 men keep it separate. 



ROCK-GARDEN BELLFLOWERS 



We now come to the species which 

 are safest in a well constructed . rockery, 

 where they have better drainage than in 

 a hardy border and are free from compe- 

 tition with coarse plants, since they are 

 grown in pockets. 



The loveliest of these is the harebell or 

 bluebell of Scotland (C. rotundifolia). 

 (See No. 8). In the woods it grows tall 

 and slender, often two feet high. In mead- 

 ows arid gardens it is often more compact 

 and grows only six to twelve inches high. 

 Despite its slender and exquisite beauty 

 it is one of the hardiest and most cos- 

 mopolitan species. This is the flower that 

 adds so much romance to Scotch water- 

 falls and mountains. Everybody knows 

 and loves it, but we do not often plant it. 



There are many ugly rocks with only a 

 pinch of earth here and there which could 

 be redeemed by planting harebells or 

 sowing seed. Beginners often ask what 

 there is about the plant to justify the name 

 rotundifolia. In the early spring you 

 should search out the root-leaves before 

 they decay, for these are roundish, while 

 the stem-leaves are linear. 



The Olympic bellflower (C. latiloba or 

 grandis) is native to Mt. Olympus in 

 Greece, and is one of those alpine plants 

 which have a disproportionately large 

 flower — often two inches across. These 

 are cup-shaped like the peach bells, but 

 the plant grows only a foot or so high and 

 quickly forms a dense carpet. 



The spotted bellflower (C. punctata) 

 is unique in having purplish spots inside 

 the white flower. Most nurserymen con- 

 sider the noble bellflower (C. nobilis) a 

 different species, as it has a dark violet 

 flower, with a hairy limb, but botanists 

 think it not different enough. Both are in- 

 teresting flowers, more quaint than beauti- 

 ful, and the plants are desperately shabby. 



WALL-LOVING BELLFLOWERS 



The wall bellflower is known to cata- 

 logues as C. muralis but the correct name 

 is C. Portenschlagiana. This charming 

 little trailer makes many an exquisite 

 picture in English gardens when it grows 

 in chinks between rock edgings of hardy 

 borders, and also when hanging down from 

 walls. It is often planted in the crevices 



of retaining walls and in such a situation 

 is hardier than on the level ground. 



HINTS TO COLLECTORS 



Several dozen names have come into 

 the European catalogues since 1900. It 

 is unfair to judge from descriptions and 

 pictures but I have not come across any- 

 thing to justify a big noise. The only 

 one that has been double starred at the 

 Experimental Farm in Ottawa is C. 

 subpyrenaica, a three-foot plant, with 

 pale bluish violet flowers which blooms 

 from June 18th to August 22d. C. phycti- 

 docalyx or amabilis has pale blue flowers 

 like the top-shaped bellflower and spreads 

 like it, but grows two or three feet high. 

 C. longistyla has large violet flowers, but 

 we have trouble enough with biennials 

 without another. 



The catalogues contain details as to 

 height, color and season of bloom, which 

 may be accurate enough for the beginner, 

 but for the exact differences between 

 species the collector must consult Bailey's 

 "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture." 

 I have said little about color or season of 

 bloom, because no two observers agree 

 about these points and they are unreliable 

 for distinguishing species. Most of the 

 bellflowers bloom in July, but some begin 

 in late June and others are at their best 

 in August. The rock garden kinds bloom 

 earlier and some begin in May. Bell- 

 flowers are often described as blue when 

 they are really purple. 



10. Plant the bellflowers in masses for proper garden effects. This is the peachleaved bellflower 



