At first I thought this was a weed, but then I noticed the flowers had 5 petals. The flowers dangle off the tall stem. On the stalk/stem there are two flowers dangling out farther about 2". The leaves are in a whorl pattern, I think lance shaped and serrated. The plants are 3-31/2 feet tall. Soil is sandy and I'm in zone 5 in SE NH. Campanula rotundifolia?
How about Adenophora, Lady bells? Aka false Campanula - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/589/
Beautiful...
Thanks for the link, Pagancat. That is it exactly. Do you know if it is native to North America or the Northeast? Is it invasive? They are very pretty and I've seen them in other yards.
I only know them from drooling over them in the catalogs, lol, unfortunately. But looking at the page that you saw the flower on ( http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/589/ ) it looks like it can easily make a nuisance of itself - take a look at some of the comments people left about it at the bottom of the page.
Perhaps in a contained area?
There is a cultivated, well-behaved ladybells and it is scented. And then there is the other one, which arrives uninvited and is impossible to get rid of. I have been fighting it for 30 years. They look identical; the scent is the key. The weed version cannot be effectively pulled and digging is only marginally successful. The roots run wide and deep and break easily into pieces, each of which becomes another plant. They are excellent at insinuating themselves into the center of other perennial clumps, which is the main problem with them. They also germinate easily from seed. So many times I was certain I had won the battle, only to find more popping up. Think twice before you allow this admittedly pretty (and long-lasting as a cut flower) plant into your garden. Thug is too gentle a word for it.
What's the name of the one that is scented?
Scented, I believe is Adenophora confusa. The weed is campanula rapunculoides. True look-alikes.
Oh, kneff, I can identify with you! I got the wrong kind and it is everywhere. I have been pulling them as they bloom because it's easier. They and the lilies-of-the-valley are thugs.
The problem is, the big white taproot is still there, even though some roots come up with the bloom stem. I have found them to go as deep as a foot and they also spread sideways with those little roots that break so easily. It's pretty when blooming and a great cut flower, but it makes tall goldenrod seem mannerly. It was in the garden when we moved here in 1976, and it's still winning.
Wow, small world. I posted a plant that may be the same thing about a week ago. Have a look at this thread - it's short.
Donna
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1008778/
