Campanula, the name rings a bell

Posted by

Ali Barwani

26 June 2026

On 26 June 2026

I live in Bowes Park, which if you haven’t heard of it isn’t as grand as it sounds. My house was built in the early 1890s by a speculative builder anticipating demand following the opening of the local railway station. The age of the property means it was built using traditional materials such as brick and lime mortar. This also means that repairs are frequently required. Recent extreme weather conditions have taken their toll on the guttering. A downpipe joint has separated halfway down one wall, and I probably wouldn’t have noticed except for the purple presence of a mass of flowers tumbling from a mat of green leaves growing in the mortar by the faulty connection.

The bell-shaped flowers tell me this is a campanula; it is the Serbian bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana). How did it reach its lofty home? I didn’t plant it. Looking at the pots in my front garden I see more clumps of this pretty plant flourishing in the dry soil where tulips gave their joyful spring display. It is also thriving in cracks between the crazy paving and in pockets in my rustic looking front wall.

Despite the record-breaking June heatwave all these self-seeded floral mounds look healthy and happy. Standing above the low-growing species is a different campanula carrying larger flowers on wiry stems. This is the peach-leaved bellflower (Campanula persicifolia), another self-invited guest. Both these beautiful bellflowers are welcome, even though they hint at wear and tear and benign neglect. Had I wanted to grow them I know they would have struggled to establish but left to their own devices they prosper. Seeing how well they do in the toughest of conditions inspired me to take a closer look at this group of plants and see what forms might be worth cultivating.

Campanulas are a diverse genus of plants that includes low, creeping species as well as tall perennial forms. This means that there is a place for these hardy plants in most gardens.

Did you know that there are ~500 species of campanula, and they can be found growing in woodland, meadows and high mountains in the Northern Hemisphere. While North America only has a few endemic species of bellflower, Europe has several areas that are species rich.

Their genus name derives from the Latin for ‘little bell’, campana. This similarity has also inspired their common name ‘bellflower’. Campanulas typically have blue flowers, though if you look closely, you can usually detect a reddish undertone to the blue, and this means they combine surprisingly well with red flowers.

Their introduction to our gardens is lost in the mists of time, but they were certainly grown in the monastic herb gardens of Britain and Europe. Campanula trachelium or ‘throatwort’ was used medicinally to treat sore throats. And Campanula rapunculus was grown in the same gardens for its edible white root. Better known as rampion, it was the vegetable stolen from the witch’s garden in the Brothers Grimm telling of the fairytale ‘Rapunzel’. Rampion remained a popular root crop until 17th century plant breeders turned their attention to improving the carrot. Campanula’s popularity as a garden flower came later as plant hunters introduced new species from areas including the Caucasus Mountains, Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East. Many introduced species became naturalised after escaping from the garden, adding diversity to Britain’s handful of native campanulas. Their flowers are great for pollinators such as bees and hoverflies. Right now, the bellflowers in our hardy perennials area are being visited by one of the UK’s smallest bees, the harebell carpenter bee (Chelostoma campanularum). This solitary species is highly active, tumbling around in the open bells. Tiny and un-bee-like, it is easily mistaken for being a tiny beetle.

Many campanulas, being mountain plants, like rapidly draining alkaline soils, and a sunny aspect. This is why they grow in old walls and cracks in paving. While a few are annuals or biennials, campanula species are mainly hardy perennials. Their leaves typically develop from either tuberous or fibrous roots. The taller growing species are often deciduous, whereas the low alpines usually overwinter as a small rosette of leaves. Both types start new growth in spring and reach flowering size in summer.

Campanulas are traditional cottage garden and herbaceous border plants. The tall species add height to the back of beds, and the lower growing forms provide colourful edging at the front. Deadheading, while tedious, is important to keep the taller forms looking good. And if you cut back the stems after flowering you may be rewarded with a second blooming. The mat formers also make great additions to pots and hanging baskets.

If you love the delicate bells of campanulas then I have picked a few of my favourites. Campanula portenschlagiana or wall bellflower is a low-growing, mound-forming evergreen perennial that becomes a mass of deep purple flowers in summer. It looks great in a rock garden or mounding in the crevices of an old wall. Campanula glomerata, the clustered bellflower, is a cottage garden favourite. It produces clusters of upward-facing bell-shaped flowers atop erect leafy stems. Cultivars are available in a range of purples, blues, pinks, and pure white. Campanula latifolia, the giant bellflower, is a stately looking plant. Its tall, stiff stems carry large, pure blue bells along their length. I particularly like the white flowered forms of this species; they bring interest to dark backgrounds. Campanula persicifolia is a compact, clump-forming perennial that produces upward and outward-facing violet-blue or white blooms in summer. Growing about 40–50 cm tall, it is a great low-maintenance choice for borders and large pots. I recommend looking for improved forms from the Campanula Takion series, such as ‘Takion Blue’ that featured in many award winning RHS Chelsea show gardens this year, including the Angels’ Share Garden by May Starey that I visited last month.

Finally, how did Campanula poscharskyana make it up the wall of my house? Well, this species produces seeds with a fat-rich outer coating known as and elaiosome. This nutrient rich body is attractive to ants who carry it to their nests to eat. The viable seeds are left untouched and deposited in their nutrient rich waste. So that is how they get distributed to many unexpected locations!