Botanical name: Campanula trachelium ‍ ‍
Folk names: throatwort, bats-in-the-belfry

Type: Perennial

Wildlife: Nectar for butterflies and bees, and a key source of pollen for specialist solitary bees: the bellflower blunthorn bee and the scissor bee.

Flowers: July to September

Decorative merit: Nodding bell-shaped, lavender-blue flowers on racemes, with toothed-leaves on tall (up to 100cm) stems.

Where: Part shade, or sun when established. Borders and wilder edges close to hedges and trees. Dead-head to prolong flowering.

Folklore: Once believed to have medicinal value to sooth sore throats. Once common around Coventry where it was known as ‘Coventry bells’, and the stamens were said to resemble bats hanging in the bell of a church steeple!

Campanula family.

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