Northern Shade Gardening

Campanula ‘Haylodgensis’ (haylodge bellflower) is a sweet double flowering Campanula with small lavender blue flowers on a dwarf plant. The many folded petals on each flower are exquisite. These bellflower plants looks delicate, but they have overwintered in zone 3 very well.

Campanula haylodgensis (haylodge bellflower) blue flowers 2

Haylodgensis is a cross between Campanula cochlearifolia (fairy thimble bellflower) and Campanula carpatica (carpathian bellflower), both of which grow well in my garden. You can see many of their traits in these plants. The double flowers remind me of the C. cochlearifolia ‘Elizabeth Oliver’ double, but these are about twice the size.

My group of Haylodgensis are currently growing in a spot that’s probably a little too shady, but they still get a good number of flowers. They are not as upright, because their current garden site gets more shade than I thought it would when I first planted them. They have tolerated a low amount of light in my garden, but when they are finished blooming this year I’m going to transplant them to a part-shade garden area that gets a bit more sun.

Campanula haylodgensis (haylodge bellflower) blue flowers 3

The  flowers of haylodge bellflower are like miniature rose flowers, with petals that curve back slightly. They face mostly upwards and outwards, so they are easy to admire. In the above photo I seem to have captured mostly the back of the pretty flowers, but it does show their wonderful colour. These plants didn’t start blooming until the beginning of August in my garden, which is the latest of all of my Campanula. I wonder if they would start blooming earlier with a little more light too.

The dwarf perennials are about 10 cm (4 inches) tall, so they look good at the front of the border, where you can easily admire the beautiful lavender blue petals. Mine are planted next to a sidewalk, and they soften the edge.

Campanula ‘Haylodgensis’ are more hardy than their dainty look suggests. They are a charming little perennial, covered in  beautiful flowers, with a multitude of petals. You can read about another double bellflower, ‘Elizabeth Oliver’, in this follow up post.

Campanula haylodgensis (haylodge bellflower) blue flowers 1

Cornus canadensis in Banff National Park

While hiking in the Rocky Mountains last week, I saw the ground under the conifers covered with a lovely carpet of Cornus canadensis (bunchberry), rising up through the moss. The little white flowers stretched out in the distance, making a wonderful groundcover among the evergreens.

I was inspired to recreate the little woodland floor scene of the first photo in my own garden. The reality of the bunchberry planting is getting a little fuzzy now, compared to the picture in my memory. I have a suburban sized garden, so the planting would have to be a smaller version. Back in town this week, I looked around the greenhouses for some Cornus canadensis, but I only found three healthy looking plants. My picture of a carpet of these perennials under my conifers was reduced to a carpet sample. Also, the ground under my conifers in front is rather dry, so no moss grows there. However, I do have a small group of this little woodland groundcover now, and they are charming, if a little downscaled from my imaginary garden. It reminds me of when they lowered the Stonehenge model in the movie Spinal Tap.

Here are my three bunchberry perennials in their pots still. I might try transplanting some of the moss from my back patio to the garden area under my spruce, around the Cornus canadensis. It’s certainly shady enough, and maybe with a bit of watering in, it might get established., even if it’s not the really beautiful moss of the forest floor.

Cornus canadensis in pots

In the montane forest where I saw the bunchberries, the trees were competing with each other for light, so most of the branches were up high, and the area underneath was fairly open. The forest was mainly Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, and white spruce. It was damp, and wispy lichen hung from the trees. Mixed in with the Cornus canadensis on the forest floor, were some Linnaea borealis (twinflower). These woodland groundcovers made a very serene scene.

My garden conditions are not quite the same as the montane forest. I have pine and spruce, and the spruce have branches close to the ground. It’s also drier, and I’m missing the wispy lichen, but I think the bunchberry will add a woodsy feel to my suburban forest site.

Bunchberry gets large clusters of red berries after the flowers fade. Perhaps some of the local wildlife will enjoy the berries from these plants after I’ve enjoyed the flowers. In the fall, the foliage turns bright colours, which will extend the interest. You can see the fall colour change of bunchberry in this post.

For now, I have a smaller version of the woodland floor from the Rockies, with Cornus canadensis plants. I can always extend it next year. Do you ever get inspired by natural areas when planning your garden?

Campanula poscharskyana 'Camgood' Blue waterfall flowers

Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian bellflower) makes a great underplanting for taller perennials or shrubs. Covered with pretty star shaped blooms, this low growing perennial still manages to shine in the shade of other plants.

I have some Campanula poscharskyana ‘Camgood’ (marketed as ‘Blue Waterfall’) planted under a Hydrangea, and I’m partial to the way the blue flowers look as they shine through the Hydrangea branches. They easily fit into the open space under this shrub, looking much prettier than mulch.

Cimicifuga and Campanula flowers

These Campanula poscharskyana are planted under a tall Cimicifuga (bugbane). I especially like the blue stars twinkling through the purple tinged foliage of this perennial, which will not flower until much later. The Cimicifuaga is sparse at the base, so this groundcover does an excellent job of preventing weeds from growing, while looking pretty.

I also use Serbian bellflower as an edging plant. This dwarf perennial add a little blue sparkle to the front of the border. The plants have dozens of these attractive five petaled stars.

I’ve read that Campanula poscharskyana spreads quickly, but I haven’t had any problems with it here. It might be that the zone 3 winters slow it down, or maybe ‘Camgood’ (‘Blue Waterfall’) is better behaved than others. In fact, this is one of the few perennials that I lost some of over the winter. To be safe, you might not want to plant it next to delicate plants, or in a rock garden, until you see how it does in your garden.

Cimicifuga with no underplanting

Doesn’t this Cimicifuga above look bare without some Campanula underneath it? It needs a dwarf groundcover, with pretty flowers at its base.

Cimicifuga underplanted with Campanula

Campanula poscharskyana is great for underplanting because it handles medium shade  well, and it is very low growing. My plants are about 10 cm (4 inches) tall, and the flower stems mostly spread out, rather than up. Serbian bellflower is a great groundcover to offset the leafy growth of taller shrubs or perennials. What plants do you like to use for underplanting?

Update: my ‘Blue Waterfall’ died out after a later winter, but you can read about two other Campanula poscharskyana that survived and flowered well.

Campanula poscharskyana 'Camgood' Blue waterfall flowers 2