Colorful lobelias are an excellent choice for garden design around streams and ponds, anywhere the soil is constantly moist. In fact, Lobelia likes absolute humidity conditions, making it one of the best options for swampy botanical gardens.
Lobelia is a genus of annual or perennial flowering plants with 415 known species[1] in the Campanulaceae (bellflower) family, native to almost all temperate and warm regions of the world. It is known by many other names, including edging Lobelia, cardinal flower, asthma weed, and vomit weed.
Many species appear to be completely different from each other. However, they all have simple, alternate leaves and double-lipped tubular flowers with 5 lobes each.
The plant produces showy purple flower spikes in all shades of white, blue, red, and pink. The two upper lobes can be upright, while the three lower lobes can be extended.
Flowering is usually abundant, and the color of the flowers is intense, hence their popularity as ornamental garden motifs. Perennial lobelias are hummingbird magnets and are therefore ideal for wildlife gardens.
