Michigan Campanula

Campanula, better known as bellflower, is the cottage-garden classic named for the little bells that line its stems. The genus name comes from the Latin campanula, meaning “little bell,” and the cut types earn it: tall Canterbury bells and cup-and-saucer forms carry rows of nodding violet, blue, pink, or white cups up graceful, sturdy stems. It is the flower that gives a June bouquet its old-fashioned, hand-gathered softness.

The bellflowers grown for cutting are Old World cottage plants rather than Michigan wildflowers, but the genus does have a true local: the delicate harebell, Campanula rotundifolia, is native to Michigan and grows wild on Great Lakes beaches, dunes, and rocky ground. So while our farmers grow the showy garden types for the barn, the same slender bell shape has been ringing along our shorelines all along.

Bellflowers bruise and wilt fast once they are cut, which is exactly why they rarely survive long-distance shipping. A flower this tender is at its best when it travels only a few miles. Our member farmers cut theirs at peak and bring them straight to the barn, so you can reserve a DIY bucket for a June or July wedding, request Campanula in a mixed bucket, or ask our floral designers to build it into an arrangement for you.