For Whom The Bells Ring

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Of the 300 species of bells known to man, 12 are endangered. I decided to figure out whether it was a lot or a little, and got a mind-blowing result - such a loss is tantamount to the disappearance of the entire population of Russia from the face of our beautiful planet more than two times in a row. It seems that the magic number "12", symbolizing the cosmic order and salvation, appeals to the consciousness of people destroying nature - our nurse

Plant habit

An exceptionally herbaceous plant, the bell prefers a temperate climate, and therefore is often found in the Russian open spaces. Their delicate corollas can be found in the steppe and in the meadow, in the thicket of the forest and at its edge, on the steep rocky slopes.

Whole leaves can be of different shapes: oval, oval-lanceolate, narrow-lanceolate and broad-lanceolate, cordate (oval and triangular), dark green, sometimes shiny, sometimes rough.

With such a variety of leaf shapes, bells can be distinguished from other plants only by their flowers, the shape of which they owe their name. The size of the flowers can be different, but the shape is always funnel-bell-shaped, close to the soul of any Christian.

Growing and caring for bells

Bells love sunny places, do not like stagnant water and the close location of groundwater, and therefore climb, like rock climbers, along steep slopes, clinging to the roots of a small accumulation of soil in crevices. They will easily take root on an alpine slide. Watering during growth is moderate, they will more easily tolerate drought than waterlogging.

They avoid too acidic soils, so if you have just such soils on the site, do not be stingy to add wood ash to the planting hole. But fresh manure and peat should not be brought in in order to prevent fungal root diseases. The introduction of superphosphate and rotted manure is encouraged.

Due to their tenderness, grace and delicacy, bells do not like to fight for a place in the sun, and therefore the weeds will quickly displace them from the territory, if the assertive conquerors are not removed in a timely manner. Loosen the soil around the bells often to prevent weeds from taking root.

They can be propagated by seeds, cuttings, dividing the rhizome.

Several varieties of bells

* Alpine - a low-growing plant with blue-violet flowers, collected in inflorescences. The height of the erect stem is 5-15 centimeters.

* Otrana - grows in the Krasnodar Territory. A branchy thin rhizome produces weak stems that lie on the ground. The corolla of the flower is violet, with long petioles with semi-leathery leaves.

* Milk-flowered - is a long-liver among bells, in one place it can live from 12 to 20 years. From June to September, it pleases summer residents with large inflorescences of milky white fragrant bells. Branched stems covered with green leaves accentuate the whiteness of the flowers.

Milk-flowered bell does not like transplants, so it is better to propagate it by seeds. For the winter, the bushes are cut off.

* Nettle leaf - on thick stems covered with stiff hairs, there are leaves that look like nettle leaves, also with stiff hairs. Bluish-lilac, sometimes white corolla of the flower is located on a short peduncle. Pleases with flowering in the middle of summer.

Used by humans for food, today folk medicine uses the bell for medicinal purposes.

* Peach - erect stems, decorated with shiny dark green narrow leaves and flowers, shoot from the fibrous fusiform root to a height of 40 to 160 cm. Short pedicels support large (up to 3.5 cm long) bells of light purple, blue, blue-violet, rarely white, forming a one-sided raceme of several flowers at the top.

The peach-leaved bell has long been an adornment for parks and gardens, flower beds, lawns and front gardens. In addition, the roots and leaves of the plant can be eaten.

The cultivated varieties of the bell are: "Alba", "Caerulea", "Moerheimii" and others.

* Sprawling - large blue-violet, sometimes white, corollas of flowers, reaching a length of 3 cm, loose inflorescences are located on erect stems up to 70 cm high. Shiny dark green narrow leaves complement the overall picture.

* Soddy - a creeping low-growing plant (up to 12 cm in height) with single blue or white corollas of flowers, towering over dark green oval leaves.

Bells as a talisman and symbol

The names that the people give to the bells sound like a love for the flower: bells, chenille, bell, balabolka, birdwort. Not everyone can hear the ringing of living bells. After all, they scatter their gentle ringing over the fields and forests only once a year - on the night of Ivan Kupala.

In order for the bells to protect the home and household members all year round, people make bells from metal, ceramics, and crystal. They decorate the front door with them, hang them in the rooms, carry miniature items with them, as a talisman against misfortunes and evil forces.

Bells personify simple earthly feelings of a person: love, obedience to fate, honesty in relationships with people. This makes life clearer, more pleasant and more joyful.