Meet Campanula alliariifolia – or Cornish bellflower. This elegant white bellflower that brings pure, cottage garden charm to Irish borders with its graceful spires of pristine white bells. This classic perennial is a true garden treasure, offering months of delicate blooms that dance in the slightest breeze, creating movement and lightness in your planting scheme.

The slender stems rise from neat rosettes of narrow, leaves, crowned with clusters of pure white, cup-shaped flowers that seem to glow in evening light. Each bloom is perfectly formed, with delicate petals that create an almost porcelain-like appearance. The long flowering season makes this campanula invaluable for maintaining colour through the heart of summer.

What makes this variety particularly special for Irish gardeners is its reliability and adaptability – equally at home in a traditional cottage garden border or a contemporary naturalistic planting. The white flowers provide the perfect foil for stronger colours whilst adding an air of refined elegance to any scheme. Pair’s perfectly with Rosa ‘Iceberg’ for classic white romance, Delphinium ‘Black Knight’ for height variation and contrast and Lavandula ‘hidcote’ for complementary purple hues. Also wonderful for cutting, bringing that fresh garden feeling indoors.

“Campanula alliariifolia” is one of those plants that epitomises the very best of cottage garden style – elegant, reliable, and utterly charming. I adore using it in our white and green garden schemes here at the nursery, where it provides that perfect vertical accent amongst lower-growing perennials.

For Irish gardens, this campanula is absolutely foolproof – it thrives in our climate and actually benefits from our regular rainfall. Plant it in partial shade or morning sun, and it will reward you with the most beautiful display year after year. The white flowers are particularly magical in evening light, almost luminous against darker foliage.

Don’t forget to deadhead regularly to keep the flowers coming, and divide every few years to maintain vigour. It self-seeds gently too, so you’ll often find delightful surprises popping up in unexpected corners of the garden – nature’s own little gifts.