Garden flower and plant: Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)
Common name: Balloon flower, Chinese bellflower.
Scientific classification: Kingdom: Plantae. Division: Magnoliophyta. Class: Magnoliopsida. Order: Asterales. Family: Campanulaceae. Genus: Platycodon. Species: P. grandiflorus. Binomial name: Platycodon grandiflorus.
Balloon flower bud swells before its starry petals unfold. Balloon flowers are one of the easiest perennials. The flowers bloom throughout the summer and into early fall in shades of blue, pink and white. Balloon flowers grow in Zones 3-8. They thrive in full sun or light shade in well-drained garden soil.