Campanula latifolia L.
Giant Bellflower
Giant bellflower is a stately native perennial of northern and central Britain, where it ranks among the finest woodland flowers of high summer. Tall, unbranched stems rise to around a metre or more, clothed in pointed, toothed leaves and topped by leafy spires of large, soft violet-blue bells, occasionally white.
About
Giant bellflower is a stately native perennial of northern and central Britain, where it ranks among the finest woodland flowers of high summer. Tall, unbranched stems rise to around a metre or more, clothed in pointed, toothed leaves and topped by leafy spires of large, soft violet-blue bells, occasionally white. It is a plant of damp, fertile ground in dappled shade, thriving along wooded riverbanks, shady hedge banks and the more open parts of broadleaved woodland on neutral to mildly calcareous soils. It is most at home from the Midlands northwards and becomes scarcer, and more often a garden escape, further south.
Flowering from late June into August, the generous bells are well visited by bumblebees, which crawl right inside to reach the nectar. With its height and presence it is a superb choice for shady borders, woodland-edge plantings and the cooler, moister corners of a wildlife garden where many meadow flowers would struggle.
Also known as
Greater Bellflower · great bellflower
Synonyms
Campanula macrantha · Drymocodon latifolium · Trachelioides latifolia · Trachelodes latifolia
Beta — under active development. This catalogue is still being built and accuracy-checked. The information here (including plant identifications, British native status, soil and sun/shade preferences) is provided in good faith for general guidance only and may contain errors or omissions. It must not be relied upon on its own — please confirm details with us before making planting, specification, foraging or purchasing decisions, and never eat or medicinally use any plant based on this catalogue alone, as some species are toxic. To the extent permitted by law, Phoenix Amenity Supplies accepts no liability for any loss arising from use of this information.