Cottage Garden Favorite: Canterbury Bells

July 4, 2022. If there is one flower that embodies cottage charm at a glance it is Canterbury Bells. No question about it, Canterbury Bells are the one flower that say, no, loudly call out, “plant me in your cottage garden”. Canterbury Bells are the flowers of fairy tales and pretty dreams of English country life. In their full glory, these bell-shaped beauties are a splendid sight and well-worth the wait for these pretty biennials. If you happen upon them, you could almost imagine a tiny fairy sleeping inside the roomy interior of this flower. In fact, when my daughter was small, we would go outside and look for fairies in the flowers. Even the name Canterbury Bells oozes English cottage charm in the most Cotswold-like way.

The Canterbury Bells I planted last year at SomeTyme Place are now putting on an elaborate show in the garden for our guests to enjoy. Those scalloped edges…. it was hard to resist cutting a huge bouquet for myself. However, I managed to restrain myself as I wanted our guests to have the enjoyment of them. These charming flowers make me happy just looking at them and excited for the Canterbury Bells I have planted now at Hidden Bluff. I had to share some pictures today!

Canterbury Bells can be grown from seed or purchased, but it is the second year that they become amazing. They don’t come back after that but can self-seed or you can replant to keep them going. They come in white, pink, dark purple, and periwinkle blue. These flowers do get tall and full (2 – 3 feet), so I recommend it as a background plant. Also, planting in groups is a good idea to accentuate the fullness factor and provide some support. They can take a bit of shade, so full sun isn’t necessary and are fairly easy to grow. The ones shown here only get a few hours of sun. Cut these beauties for bouquets on their own or mixed with other flowers. You will have people asking you about them!

Have a beautiful day!