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If you see mounds of a beautiful, blue bell-shaped flower growing in a garden in southeastern New Brunswick, chances are you have stumbled on a most popular perennial which locals logically call the bellflower.

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Bellflower is a great garden addition.

Its botanical name, if you are looking to buy some in a nursery, is campanula, which predictably means "bell-like" in Latin.

Some varieties of this plant are annuals, but there are also perennials and even biennals. Colours most commonly seen here are in the shades of blue and purple, but there are rare varieties with pink and even white blooms.

The best way to get this plant started in your garden is to purchase one that is already growing comfortably in a one-gallon container. Buy it before it is in bloom, or wait until the fall. Be sure to look at all the different varieties available and select one which meets the dimensional needs of your garden.

Some grow up to three feet tall, some are shorter. Make sure the plant stem is sturdy.

Plant your bellflower in a well-drained sunny or lightly-shaded spot in the garden and add some organic fertilizer to the planting hole. Water the plant well and add about a three-inch layer of organic compost around the plant so it doesn't dry out.

You may need to stake the taller varieties of this plant, but other than that, it doesn't need a lot of car. Next spring, be sure to cut back the tall flower stems to the base.

A favourite variety of this species that is frequently seen in the Metro Moncton area is the Canterbury Bell, which some gardeners refer to as the Cup and Saucer plant. It is very showy and blooms from late spring to early summer in many shades of blue. It is simply beautiful.

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For your diary:

June 21 - Corn Hill Nursery offers a free seminar on "A World of Hardy Roses." The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and pre-registration is essential since the session is limited to 50 people. Call 506-756-3635 to register.

June 27 - You have until today to nominate yourself or a gardening friend to be included in the Greater Moncton Garden Tour of the YWCA. The tour will be held July 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with all proceeds going to the YWCA. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For more information or to nominate a garden call 855-4349.

Kingsbrae Gardens 10th anniversary contest - Don't forget to fill out a ballot for a $10,000 anniversary draw this summer when you visit the exquisite 27-acre Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews. In a celebratory mood, the garden's patrons, John and Lucinda Flemer, have put up this extraordinary prize to mark 10 years of outstanding growth and activities there. One ballot will be allotted to every paid admission.