'Camgood' or
'Blue Waterfall'
Serbian Bellflower
"Simplest of blossoms! To mine eye
Thou bring'st the summer's painted sky."
-David Macbeth Moir
(1798-1851)
(1798-1851)
Planted not far from a long-established strip of an unnamed or wild-form of Campanula poscharkyana is a cultivar of the same species registered as 'Campgood' & distributed as 'Blue Waterfall' Serbian Bellflower or Harebell.
The immediate comparison of the foliage shows that the wild form is a lighter shade of green, 'Blue Waterfall' being dark green; & 'Blue Waterfall' is a bit more orderly along its creeping stems so looks slightly less untidy, the wild form being floppier in its appearance.
'Blue Waterfall' has smaller leaves over all, though it is otherwise almost as large a low clumping spreading bellflower as is the wild form. It probably has C. elantes diluted in its hybrid history, as do most Serbian bellflower cultivars.
Eight or ten inches tall or a bit taller, this Blooms of Bressingham cultivar from England is compact, apt to overwhelm anything the same size or smaller growing beside it, & able to keep weeds at bay. It'll spread pretty well its first year, then double in its spread its second year. It may need to be dug up & divided as often as every third year, in either early spring or in autumn.It is low-maintenance, likes moderately moist well draining soil best, but is drought tolerant if it needs to be. It is a possibility for the xeriscape garden though it has its limitations, being never as drought-hardy as rockroses & sunroses.
Full sun is best, but it will tolerate some shade with tapering off of flower strength. If planted on a wall it will reveal a cascading habit, so is ideal for stone ledges, containers, window boxes, & hanging baskets.
As early as May & certainly by the tail end of spring, the spring & summer flowers begin. They are a rich violet-blue, in extravagant numbers when grown in full sun.
Very long-flowering, in our mild climate (Zone 8) it is going gung-ho from May or June until August, then calls for a light sheering which induces a more moderate rebloom for September & October. It can be grown to Zone 5, but in colder climates I presume it wouldn't have a chance to reflower in autumn.
C. portenschlagiana 'Resholt Variety' Dalmation bellflower