This attractive perennial fits well into the herbaceous border. It may be more convenient to buy the balloon flower from the nursery than to grow it from seed.
The balloom flower belongs to the harebell family, Campanulaceae. It originates in northern Asia. The cool climate of its origin is aptly reflected in the blue and white color tones of the flowers. There are no yellow or red balloon flowers, although some varieties are slightly pink.
Cool climate
The home of the balloon flower indicates that ir prefers a cooler climate. It is well suited to weather conditions in Britain and will survive in most parts of the country, but it grows best in a situation that is sheltered and moist but well drained.
Easy care perennail
The ballon flower is a particularly undemanding plant. Its only requirement is cool, well drained, gritty soil. Ordinary garden soil is perfectly adequate, as long as it does not dry out during the summer months. The plant likes both sun and dappled shade.
Although it is both pretty and easy to grow, the ballon flower is not common in our gardens. This makes it the ideal choice if you want a plant that is both attractive and rather unusual.
Balloon-like buds
Before the buds open, they resemble tiny inflated balloons. The opened flowers are 5-7cm across and have white stamens. Several flowers cluster together at the top of the long stalk.
The plant grows between 25 and 60cm tall. The blue or white flowers appear in midsummer.
Different sizes
The height the balloon flower eventually reaches depends largely on where it is grown. In good conditions, the average plant will grow to a height of 35cm or slightly more.
The most common variety of balloon flower is "Mariesii". It grows up to 45cm tall and flowers in blue or white, while "Album" is always white. Another attractive variety os "Perlmutterschale", which has wonderful mother-of-peral pink flowers. It grows up to 60cm tall. "Apoyama", reaching a height of 20-25cm, is one of the smaller varieties. It has purple flowers.
Bonus for the harbaceous border
The ballon flower makes a decorative addition to any herbaceous border. As a bonus, it is also hardy and easy to care for. It can be combined to great effect with other plants which have flowers in either soft or bright colors.
Some suggestions for companion plants are: the daily lily (Hermerocallis), which has flowers in all shades between yellow and red, the evening primrose (Oenothera), old-witch grass (Panicum) or some of the sedum varieties. The balloon flower also looks very pretty planted in combination with salvia (Salvia superba), whose flowers are a stikingly intense blue-violet shade.
Pretty in the rockery
The balloon flower is also suitable for a rockery, particularly if you use low growing varieties. The various Erica varieties or ornamental grasses make good companion plants, contrasting becomingly with the blue bells. Clumps of thyme also look attractive around the balloon flower. There are among others, Thymus praecox, caraway thyme (Thmus herba-barona) and lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) to choose from. Yellow Corydalis luta also looks very pretty with the balloon flower.
Plant protection
The balloon flower is rarely affected by diseases. However, it is occasionally attacked by snails and slugs. One way of getting rid of these is to put out a saucer of beer, which snails are very fond of. Another method is simply to pick them off the plant by hand.