There are so many, many great campanulas...but neither c.carpatica (the clips) or c.glomerata can be counted amongst them. The clips plants - yep, we have all had 'em....but how many of us still do? Unlike the indestructible (and complete ground covering) c.portenschlagiana or the tiny little C.cochlearifolia...or, my favourite alpine - C.pulla. Then there are the glorious tall lactiflora, latiloba, latifolia trio...add in c,trachelium for an ocean of blue (or purple, lilac, white). Everyone has variations of c.persicifolia - common as muck, but even there, in dullsville, there are treasures - the lovely Bernice, Hetty or Hampstead White - long lived doubles...and the picotee Chettle Charm. Naturally, no sane person would plant c.rapunculoides (which is obviously why I am incubating a silent invasion right now) and even I might gasp at those pesky asiatics - c.punctata, talesima et al. I have not yet mentioned the hybrids - Kent Belle and Sarastro (but I will) or the fascinating c.barbata, the weirdly incurved c.zoysii...I could go on, boring you into submission (i often do) but I think the intent is clear - there are many better bellflower adventures than the dreary clips.

Water quality is top notch. Hetch Hechy from Yosemite. After that,its clay soils and moderate summer humidity. Low by east coast standards. High enough to not bother tree ferns and all manner of ferns like Playcerium superbum and bifurcatum. Even a Huperzia squarrosa. But,I grant you..Selaginella might want dripping wet humidity. I tried over the years..they started dying the moment they left the store or nursery. I was just wondering if somebody in Cali had a good looking planting..maybe a hanging basket or in ground?.

Hi Annette, I'm not sure if your seeds of C. latifolia are originally from me or not(I've distributed a lot in the past couple years!) but it is a very pretty plant with large purple-blue bells on strong stems. Please note Libby's(Gorgeous pics by the way!) plant is a C. lactiflora cultivar not C. latifolia. C. Latifolia blooms in late spring/early summer. As with all campanulas it likes good drainage. It also prefers part shade. I have mine in a full sun border, but the shrub next to it does give it some shade. If the soil gets too dry during the summer as in a full sun border, the plant may go dormant, and then reappear once the temps go down and rain resumes. C. trachelium looks like a thin version of C. latifolia if that makes sense, lol. When I had C. pyramidalis, it did grow quite large! Unforutnately, it didn't like to hold itself up even in my poor soil border. So you may need to stake yours once flower stalks begin to form. For some reason, I don't have a pic of my own. The pic on the link below is a nice one of what it will look like once full grown. Remy Here is a link that might be useful: Campanula Page

Forrest, I have two spruces myself that have done surprisingly well. One is the ubiquitous Alberta Spruce. I bought it to decorate for Christmas. It is in an all day sun location facing south and it has managed to survive for over 12 years. Only in the last couple years have I noticed it beginning to have thin spots over the outer "shell" of needles. Still a stalwart. The other I have is Picea pungens 'Glauca'. I planted it in 1989 and though it looks worse for wear, its still very nice during parts of the year. The emerging needles are always a stunning blue even in the hottest years. It is in a much more protected location but still receives at least 6 hours of sun per day. Here is a picture from 1/19/05....... I see many big spruces around the area as well. There is one property that has 4 large trees that look fabulous all the time. The current owners put large "wrapped presents"(just empty boxes) under them during Christmas, making for great decor!