The seed is not really bad. At least I do not think that it is. It is merely misunderstood. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is simply unidentified. I really do not know what it is. I do not say that very often, especially about seed that I bother to collect to sow elsewhere. I believe that it is of American bellflower, Campanula americana. If not, it is very closely related.
It appeared in part of one of the landscapes at work. Because it looked like some sort of campanula, we left it to see what it would do. It got quite tall, but never started to look like something we did not want to take a chance on. We were rewarded for taking the risk when it bloomed with these elegant spikes of small sky blue flowers. That was a little more than a year or so ago.
No one bothered to deadhead it immediately after bloom. It was only a few plants on the back edge of rather relaxed landscape, so was easy to ignore. By the time the dried floral stalks were noticed and removed, the seed had already been tossed. Consequently, there were many more of them through this last season, both in the same area, and in adjacent parts of the landscape.
In fact, there were too many to ignore when their floral spikes had finished blooming. I deadheaded them myself so that I could collect the dried floral carcasses in a small bucket. Some seed had already been tossed for next year. Nonetheless, there is enough dust-like seed in the bottom of the bucket to share with other landscapes. I intend to sow it just prior to winter storms.
So, this unidentified seed should be an asset to the landscapes.
Tony Tomeo 
What a gorgeous color! (And great photo–I know how hard it can be to get the camera to see that blue and focus properly where you want it to!)
Karla
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Thank you. I really can not remember when that picture was taken! I know the bloom lasted for quite a long time, but I can not remember when it started and when it finished. I don’t really care. I think it will be a nice wildflower that should not naturalize too aggressively.
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These look remarkably like our native bluebells (aka prairie gentian). Ours are in an entirely different genus (Eustoma exaltatum), but the color and bloom shape are similar. These are beautiful. I’m glad they’re going to be spread a bit farther.
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Oh, they are completely different. I would know if it were a gentian because I would not recognize it at all. Gentians are still baffling to me. . . . Apparently, so are some of the simpler campanulas.
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It is good that the plant was liked.
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It provides such a pretty blue, but also looks like a wildflower. Even though it spreads, it does not seem to be too aggressive about it. I do not know where it came from, but it landed in the right situation. Phlox and campion arrived in the area in the same manner.
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Garden surprises are the best.
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Yes! If I selected only what I want, all the flowers would be white and boring.
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I think you’re right it’s bellflower. Nice you saved it and it can naturalize a bit.
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Because it is not native here, the differences from what grows wild elsewhere might be attributed to its genetics. I mean, it is likely a descendant of a garden variety. I am pleased that is spread a bit in the landscape, but am also pleased that it does not seem to naturalize outside of the irrigated area. Otherwise, I might be concerned that it could become too invasive and naturalize into the surrounding forests. (Seed that randomly landed here is just as likely to have already landed in the forests too, but never got established.)
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Looks Malvaish or Bell Flowerish… 🙂 Very nice! What do the leaves look like?
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Well, it is not a mallow. Everything about it, including the leaves, looks like campanula. I am just not familiar with this particular ‘tall’ species. I think of campanula as something that stays low to the ground. Some types are creeping.
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Well, the seeds came from somewhere. It indeed looks like a Campanula. Maybe someone nearby has the same plant in their yard.
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Yes; there is quite a neighborhood up above. We got our phlox in the same manner. It just showed up. Because I had never grown it, I did not know what it was at first. It also self sows politely (without being invasive). A few years prior, campion appeared.
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You could look up pictures of each one of these and try to make a match:
http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Campanula.
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It looks like none of them . . . and Campanula americana is not on the list.
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I saw a map for Campanula americana earlier, but can’t find it now. It was right there earlier.
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I looked at all of them because this particular campanula likely came from a neighboring garden, so is not native.
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Perhaps it’s in Campanulaceae but not in the genus Campanula per se.
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Campanula americana is a species of campanula, but is just lacking from the maps. It is not native here, so, if it is such, it must have come from a neighboring garden.
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Reblogged this on Tony Tomeo and commented:
Phlox and campion became politely naturalized within the same landscapes by the same means.
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