Campanula: Houseplant of the Month for April

From delicate bells to rugged purple clangers, Campanula in all its forms is utterly disarming.

Free and happy

It’s up to you whether Campanula is a houseplant or a garden plant. Indoors or outdoors, either is possible (do beware of night frosts out on the patio though – the plant can’t cope with those). You decide where you want sassy flowers in white, pink, lilac, purple or indigo. Those flowers are also pretty idiosyncratic, incidentally: they can stand up straight, droop in a chilled way, do their stylised thing or create loads of fun with masses of flowers. Indoors they create an instant spring feeling, and if you want you can also take Campanula out in the garden with you. Not because you have to, but because you can.

5 reasons for picking Campanula

– It’s an easy plant that requires little care.

– There are more than 500 varieties, so plenty of choice.

– It can be smaller than 5 cm or bigger than 2 metres, but always beautiful.

– Campanula keeps flowering enthusiastically.

– It a very modern, unusual houseplant that makes you a bit different.

Campanula 2.0

Does the idea of a customisable world in which everything has to be perfect get you down sometimes? Luckily nowadays things can be a bit more authentic, with individual personality. Enter Campanula, a beauty with many faces. Those include a chic version with elegant bells, a cheerful hip version and a serious mophead. Single flowers, triple double-flowered, sturdy specimens that could accommodate a whole fairy – there’s plenty of choice and all beautiful in their own way. So there’s always a variety that will strike a bell of recognition with you.

Campanula trivia

• Campanula is Latin for ‘bell’ and is a member of the family of the same name.
• The plant particularly grows in mountainous regions around the Mediterranean and in the Caucasus.
• Campanula represents attraction, becoming an adult and choosing your own path.

Flowering Rapunzel

In Northern Italy Campanula often forms a flowering carpet hanging over rock formations. It’s reminiscent of Rapunzel’s hair that dangled so appealingly from her tower window in the Grimm fairytale. Rampion, from which Rapunzel got her name, is a type of Campanula.

How to make sure that Campanula carries on flowering

• Campanula can be placed in both light and partially shady spots.
• The soil should be slightly damp. Pour away any excess water in the pot.
• Some plant food once a fortnight ensures that Campanula will flower even more profusely.
• Campanula can go outside on the patio or balcony in the warmer months.
• Remove wilted flowers. You don’t need to do anything else.

Rugged styling

‘Hustle and heart will set you apart’ is a good motto for the new interior style that suits Campanula perfectly. Materials such as cachepots made of tin, Seventies finds from charity shops, coloured glass, handmade boxes on legs, recycled rubber or funky plastic that you have decorated with graffiti make this indoor and outdoor bloomer totally streetwise. The colours in this style are strong: red, orange, yellow and blue. A touch of upcycling works well, and everything can look very honest: it is what it is, and it’s good.

For more information see: www.Thejoyofplants.co.uk

Published on: 21 March 2020