Plants in the Hortus
Many of the plants described here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861. A large number of additional plants were identified from correspondence, gardening notebooks and other documents surviving in the archives. The Hortus attempts to describe all the plants grown in the gardens at Camden Park and those grown in horticultural enterprises such as orchards and vineyards and includes plants grown outside the gardens in the park-like environs of the Camden Park estate. The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes in the 19th century household; as ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicines, food and drink from the garden, orchard and vineyard and many others.
Campanula medium L.
Fully hardy, slow-growing, clump-forming biennial with single or double, white, pink or blue, bell-shaped flowers in spring to summer. To 90cm. [RHSE, Hortus].
Campanula medium L. var. alba
See Campanula medium L. Alba is a naturally occurring white flowered form.
Campanula medium L. var. flore pleno
See Campanula medium L. A double form, probably naturally occurring as a monstrous form. The double Canterbury Bells available today are a later development.
Campanula nobilis Lindl.
Nearly erect hardy perennial with underground runners, and few-flowered racemes with nodding, creamy bluish-purple or pink flowers dotted red within. To 45cm. [RHSD, Hortus].
Campanula persicifolia L. Subsp. sessiliflora (K.Koch.) Velen. ex Greuter & Burdet
Fully hardy clump-forming perennial with basal rosettes of lance-shaped, toothed leaves, to 12cm long, and short racemes of stalkless, shallowly cup-shaped, large, violet to blue flowers, to 5cm across in mid and late summer. To 90cm. [RHSE, Hortus].
Campanula persicifolia L. var. macrantha A.DC.
See Campanula persicifolia L. subsp. sessiliflora (K.Koch.) Velen. ex Greuter & Burdet. Similar to this but with larger flowers of a violet hue.
Campanula pyramidalis L.
Frost hardy, short-lived erect perennial usually grown as a biennial with pyramidal racemes of fragrant light blue or white flowers from late spring to summer. To 3m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Campanula pyramidalis L. var. alba
See Campanula pyramidalis L. Alba is a naturally occurring white form. [RHSD, Hortus, PD, JD].
Campanula rapunculoides L.
Fully hardy perennial with deep blue flowers in summer. To 90cm. [RHSD, Hortus].
Campanula rapunculoides L. var. pulcherrima
See Campanula rapunculoides L. Hortus Second relates C. pulcherrima to C. rapunculoides as a distinct variety. It is an erect, nearly hairless plant with bluntish, toothed leaves and axial racemes of violet flowers.
Campanula rapunculoides M.Bieb. var. trachelioides A.DC.
See Campanula rapunculoides L. for a description of the type. The variety trachelioides is larger than the type and covered with stiff white hairs. [RHSD].
Campanula rupestris Sibth. & Sm.
Half hardy, erect to procumbent biennial with elliptic leaves, to 8cm long, and spikes or panicles of blue-mauve flowers. To 45cm. [RHSD, Hortus].
Campanula stricta L.
Rigid woody-based perennial with oblong leaves and a spike of sessile, tubular blue flowers. To 50cm. [RHSD].
Campanula trachelium L.
Fully hardy upright perennial with tubular, mid-blue to white flowers in mid and late summer. To 90cm. [RHSE, Hortus].
