Bells - Types And Uses

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Campanula - means "bell"

Bells have been loved since ancient times in Russia. Everyone knows these lovely and modest flowers.

In the meadow and in the forest glade, in a remote ravine and on the banks of the river, their blue, blue, purple or white flowers greet us warmly. However, not all bells have dark blue flowers. Among them there are species with white, fawn, pale ocher, pink, light lilac and purple corolla colors.

Bells are one of the most popular plants among the people. This can be seen at least by the well-aimed, affectionate local names: bells, bells, doves, eagles, etc. In the midst of the strawberry season, when red berries ripen, a real handsome man of our forests blooms in light forests and clearings - a peach-leaved bell. Its light blue, large, classical-shaped flower is as if cast from sonorous metal.

Gardener's guide

Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

It is one of the largest of all 150 types of bells in the native flora. Blue or lilac-blue (rarely white) corollas with short teeth, cut into five lobes, hang on legs from the tops of a slender high stem, attracting tireless bees and bumblebees. In the depths of the corolla there is a nectar gland, from which only large insects can get nectar. If cross-pollination with their help did not happen, then self-pollination is possible for this handsome man.

All bells are varied in shape and size of the flower (from 1 to 7 cm), bush height - from 6 to 150 cm), color and size of leaves, flowering time.

They can be used in single and group plantings, ridges and borders, rockeries and flower containers, for vertical gardening and for cutting. Whatever your flower garden, you can always choose the type you need from such a variety of bells.

Recently, when planting greenery in parks, squares, personal plots, plants characteristic of natural landscapes are increasingly used. Refined roses, luxurious peonies, bright phloxes and dahlias give way to more modest and unpretentious cornflowers, volzhankas, anemones, ferns, hosts and, of course, romantic bells.

Bells growing in the garden bring him prosperity, and in England this flower is considered sacred. It got the name "Canterbury Bells" due to its resemblance to the bells worn by the horses of pilgrims on their way to the tomb of Thomas Canterbury. Wandering monks, on foot or on horseback, also carried bells, by the sound of which the village knew that they were approaching with blessings and medicines for the sick. Thus, it is easy to see why the Canterbury Bells have come to be regarded as harbingers of good fortune.

There are over 250 species of bluebells, which are found mainly in the northern hemisphere. Many of them grow in the mountainous regions of Europe and the Mediterranean.

The scientific name comes from the Latin word campanula - bell. Plants of this genus are distinguished by long, straight, slightly lowered at the top, creeping or creeping stems. Leaves are alternate, at the base of the stem are sometimes collected in rosettes. They bloom from June to the onset of frost.

Low-growing species are a mandatory range of rock gardens. The flowers of this plant enliven the landscape well. Bells are very unpretentious plants (except for alpine species): they are unpretentious to the soil and growing conditions. They grow well in stone walls, among cracks in stairs, between tiles lined with garden paths.

Almost all wild-growing bells are decorative, and it is no coincidence that they have been used in garden culture since the Middle Ages. For a long time and widely known bells are peach-leaved, crowded, pyramidal, broad-leaved, medium and others.

There are fewer and fewer of these bells in our forests - they suffer because of their attractiveness and insecurity. That is why flower lovers can be advised to grow garden bells, especially since the peach bell has been known in culture since the 16th century.

Bells, whose ancestors in nature grew in forest glades, edges, in dark ravines, grow well in the shade in culture and can decorate the darkest parts of your garden.

These are, for example, nettle-leaved bells, broad-leaved, crowded, peach-leaved, rapunzel-like, etc., - these are daisy-leaved bells, three-toothed, border, Radde, gargan.

In the middle lane, bells can do without watering. The need for additional moisture can arise only during dry periods.

A special place is occupied by a shirokokolokolchik or platycodon, the name of which perfectly characterizes the shape of the corolla as a wide bell. Grows in Eastern Siberia, the Far East, Japan, Korea, China, dry meadows and rocky rubble places.

There are many garden forms, including dwarf ones, with double and semi-double white, light blue and pink flowers. Large-flowered shirokokolokolchik is a perennial bluish plant with straight, densely leafy shoots 40–45 cm high. The flowers are large, up to 8 cm in diameter, apical solitary or 3-5 in a paniculate inflorescence. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, bright blue, blue, less often white.

The buds of the original shape are like small rounded lanterns. Spring regrowth is late in comparison with other bells - in the middle, and sometimes even at the end of May. Blooms from mid-June, long-lasting flowering. Bears fruit in September. In the conditions of the middle lane, full-fledged, viable seeds ripen. It is better to grow Platycodon in well-drained open sunny places, but it also tolerates partial shade.

Notice board

Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

Drought-resistant. Grows well on loose loam. Does not tolerate the proximity of groundwater. Winter-hardy. The best way to propagate is by seed. In culture since 1872. Platycodon is extremely effective during flowering in a rocky garden and in small groups on a lawn in combination with other plants. Looks very good in bouquets. It is especially interesting in that it blooms in the second half of summer, when the main flowering of most bells ends.

A couple of years ago, by pure chance, I purchased the seeds of Bonet and Lanceolate codonopsis, which I want to tell about at the end of the article. Codonopsis is a perennial plant with straight or winding branchy stems 60–100 cm long. The genus includes about 40 species, distributed mainly in East and Central Asia, in our country - only in the Far East and in the mountains of Central Asia. Codonopsis grow in alpine and subalpine meadows, on shady edges, along streams and in river valleys, in meadows.

It has been cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant since the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The underground parts of plants are used as a drug in the treatment of the respiratory system, bronchial asthma, ear, throat, nose, and digestive organs.

In Chinese folk medicine, the roots of one of the types of codonopsis are used as a tonic, and the other two are excellent honey plants and fodder plants. Codonopsis grow in alpine and subalpine meadows, on shady edges, along streams and in river valleys, in meadows.

Lanceolate codonopsis is one of the tallest species. This is a liana that rises to a height of 2-3 meters, and its flowers are large, very beautiful in shape, bell-shaped, greenish-yellow with purple specks and with the tips of the petals bent outward. The plant needs support to grow. The place of residence is required shady or semi-shady, humid.

In culture, it grows better in a well-lit place, but only with sufficient moisture. Undemanding to soils, but prefers loose and nutritious. Western catalogs zone: (5) 6-8. In the middle lane it is winter-hardy, but preventive cover with coniferous spruce branches is desirable. In my garden, I only take him off the support and lay him on the ground, so that he covers himself. Unfortunately, codonopsis are not widespread in our gardens, but, in my opinion, they deserve the attention of gardeners and lovers of rarities.