Campanula - A Hardy Beauty

One of the biggest dilemmas that homeowners face with their gardens is what plants to put in there that will thrive and look good all year round. Many avid gardeners have found that campanula fits the bill. Handsome, tough, and hard to intimidate, this flowering plant has become a favorite with people who are planting in USDA zone 4. Some varieties, developed over time because of consumer demand, will even grow well in the harsher zone 3. In fact, more and more varieties of campanula are showing up all of the time because of the popularity of this plant, but some standard favorites remain.

The dalmation bellflower is one of the more popular varieties of campanula. Usually flowering late in the spring or early in the summer, this compact spreading plant sprouts beautiful violet bell-shaped flowers. It rarely grows any taller than 6 inches, making it an excellent ground cover plant. As long as you make sure that the soil you plant it in is porous enough to drain well so as to not let the roots get oversaturated with water, this campanula variety will be a wonderful grown cover for you for years. Though not everyone's favorite, strong sales of seeds and seedlings show this to be a steady seller for home and business landscapers.

One of the oldest and largest varieties of campanula is the peach-leaved bellflower. Found in gardens as far back as the 16th century, this beautiful and hardy variety grows up to three feet tall and sprouts large, impressive flowers. You can choose from two flowering colors, white or blue, and when you plant seeds or seedlings you want to watch them carefully as they grow. This plant can grow fairly quickly, and since it can get as big as it does, you want to make sure that you thin the plants as soon as you see any crowding.

Though the campanula is usually a perennial, one variety doesn't really fit into that category. Canterbury bells, with rare exceptions, have a tendency to flower only every other year, but when they do flower it adds a breathtaking touch of beauty to your garden. Despite the fact that this variety only flowers every two years, it is still a favorite among home and business landscapers. One thing that you will find out about any variety of this plant is that there are very few gardeners who haven't heard of it. For its year-round hardiness and beautiful flowering, it adds consistent beauty to any garden.

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Title:	Campanula - A Hardy Beauty
Author:	Joy Stoyle
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Campanula - A Hardy Beauty