Phacelia campanularia Blue Wonder Seeds

Phacelia campanularia Blue Wonder is a pretty descendant of an American phacelia which is well accustomed to arid situations. This small annual plant is little known to French gardeners, but is widely planted in the flowering meadows of Southern California. It has a long flowering period displaying clusters of a dazzling blue which are made up of bouquets of campanulate flowers that bloom, depending on the climate and the date of sowing, from the beginning of spring until summer. 'Blue Wonder’ is made for natural gardens and can be inserted into perennial beds, flowering meadows, borders and sunny rock gardens. It can also be grown in pots.

Phacelia campanularia or desert bluebell is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Hydrophyllaceae or Boraginaceae family, depending on the classification. A very small area in Southern California (Mojave and Sonora deserts) is the birthplace of this plant, which is both charming and useful for agriculture and beekeeping. It is a desert species that grows on sandy or stony, dry, well-drained soil.

'Blue Wonder' is a more compact form of this wild plant. From spring onwards, it develops a small clump of stems covered with glandular hairs that make the plant a little sticky. It has a highly developed root system. Its growth is rapid. It is a mature adult in 3 to 4 months and does not exceed 25 cm in height and 30 cm in width. Its foliage consists of alternating, oval or rounded, dark greyish green, slightly lobed leaves with toothed margins and are often outlined with red or purple. Stems and petioles are reddish in colour, contrasting with the foliage and flowers. Plants sown in autumn (in mild climates) will flower from the end of February. Those germinating in spring, flower from June to August. The flowering is melliferous and nectar-rich. This plant produces somewhat loose clusters of several small flowers in the shape of widely open, campanulate bells that measure 1.5 to 4 cm long. Their colour is an eye-catching, gentian blue set off by purple veins and white stamens. The seeds self-seed easily in light soil. The young plants are sensitive to frost. 

Phacelia are interesting plants in more ways than one. Not only are they beautiful, they grow and flower everywhere, especially in areas where many others refuse to grow. It is a remarkable green manure in dry soils. In recent gardens or on barren slopes, they can quickly form beautiful, superbly coloured beds with other fast-growing plants such as sainfoin, indian pea, California poppies, flax or Missouri evening primrose (Oenothera missouriensis). It can also be used to border an alley, in the company of creeping thymes (Thymus hirsutus, T.ciliatus, T serpyllium...). This small plant with its incredible blue blooms is also remarkable in a nice pot on the terrace or balcony.