Campanula Species, Siberian Bellflower

Much like our friend in Bonner's Ferry, ID, in Spokane, WA this grows well and can be invasive. Grows in sunny as well as partial shade, ...Read Morein my iris, grapes, flower bed and yes it grows from a rhizome. You must pull it, dig it and control it or it will be everywhere. Or use it where it can fill a bare spot and treat it as if it a naturalized plant.

My former neighbor soon after I moved here in '97 pointed to the pretty purple bell-shaped flower on my side of her fence and said she wa...Read Mores afraid it was "night shade," a poisonous woodland flower here in northernmost Idaho. I took a sample to a Forest Service botanist and confirmed it was not Night Shade. Since it was beautiful and on my side, I continued to enjoy it. However, within a few years it was showing up all over my gardens. Each time it appeared where I didn't want it, I dug it up with my handy weeder, and next year it was even more prolific. I began to look at it as a weed now and was becoming frustrated. Last year, after 17 years of pulling and finding more the next season, I happened to be spading down deep to plant a peony bush in the midst of some of the purple flower plants, and found a long carrot-shaped root under the clump of purple flowers. Turns out those roots are deep and support many plants above them. Today I learned in this site what this mysterious flower is. I plan to transplant some of the unwanted roots to our English garden where my color scheme will accommodate it nicely. Also, Dave's site info says it will grow in partial shade, and the English garden is partially shaded. Thanks for the helpful information. I rated this plant negative because it's been so invasive here, but if it's invasive in the English garden, more power to it because I love the height, the delicate purple bell-shaped flowers and even the clump of heart-shaped, dark green leaves at the base of the stalk.

I found out about this plant during a trip to Milford, Pennsylvania, to visit a historical site called "Grey Towers" which includes some ...Read Moreof the prettiest gardens I've seen. On this occasion I took a picture of some pretty ground cover star-shaped flowers, blue-purple in color.