Come on you Hardy Geraniums, let’s start the show!
My hardy Geraniums have just started to flower. They are one of my favourite perennial plants and these early ones appear at the end of April.
The first to flower is Geranium phaeum. It is known as “The Mourning Widow” as the flowers usually appear in various shades of purple. In Victorian times (1890-1901) black clothing was worn for six months after a funeral, then purple or grey for the following six months. There is also a white flowered variety but unfortunately I lost it a few years ago. I must replace it.
Geranium phaeum (pale purple)
There are also variegated varieties where the leaves are splashed with cream or red. This flower is a much darker purple.
Geranium phaeum 'Variegatum'
There are also named cultivars such as Geranium phaeum ‘Lily Lovell’ which has slightly larger flowers than the norm.
Geranium phaeum 'Lily Lovell'
Geranium phaeum var. phaeum ‘Samobor’ has lovely dark red, almost waxy flowers and…….
Geranium phaeum var. phaeum 'Samobor'
……bright green leaves splashed with chocolate brown.
Geranium phaeum var. phaeum 'Samobor'
Geranium x monasence flowers next. It is a cross between G. phaeum and G. reflexum and the second parent gives it the distinctive reflexed petals.
Geranium x monacense
The first of my larger flowered Geraniums is G. libani. It has quite a short flowering season with the foliage dying away and the plant becoming completely dormant by the summer, reappearing in spring. It needs marking otherwise you will be wondering why you have this empty space from June onwards. The lilac blue flowers are very pretty.
Geranium libani
For aromatic foliage I have a number of Geranium macrorrhizums. They have long been used for medicinal purposes and they are a source of oil of Geranium. The Digger hates the smell of the foliage but I find it very appealing. It is interesting how fragrance can be very subjective – agreeable to one person and sickening to another! This one is white and is always the first one to flower. There are purple and pink ones too, some with variegated foliage.
Geranium macrorrhizum 'Ingwersen's Variety'
Finally there is Geranium sylvaticum. Its flowers are a combination of pale purple, blue and pink and the dominant colour seems to change depending on the weather and the amount of sunshine.
Geranium sylvaticum
There is also a white variety which is very pretty too.
Geranium sylvaticum 'Album'
Natural habitats:
Geranium phaeum grows naturally in damp meadows and along the edge of woodland so does not like to dry out and prefers some shade. My soil is very well draining so I try to grow them in an area which gets some shade for part of the day. G. x monacense likes the same conditions.
Geranium libani seems to have originated on lower mountain slopes , growing in deep crevices and therefore having its roots in shade. Mine does perfectly well planted at the base of an old garden roller. As this Geranium is summer dormant it does not seem to object to nearby plants drooping over it during the rest of the year.
Geranium macrorrhizum naturally grows among rocks and scrub in mountains and is much more drought tolerant than the others. It grows anywhere in my garden.
Geranium sylvaticum likes to grow in meadows so again it prefers not to dry out. I treat it as I do G. phaeum.
20 comments
What a lovely, lovely post. And so full of information as well as tempting flowers….
Emma: Thanks. They are too tempting when you have very little space :-)
Geraniums put on such a good show don’t they, and you have such a lot. Enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for sharing.
Judith: Thanks for reading!
You have a lovely collection of hardy Geraniums. I really must add a few of these to my garden soon. Years ago I had one or two but they have long since disappeared.
Racquel: They are value for money plants, especially the ones that flower later as they usually have a longer flowering period.
This is a really beautiful posting and love the fact that you’ve got all the names too with each one – I love the geraniums and have quite a few of the the phaeums including a lovely dusky pink one – will try and find the name as it’s beautiful!
They’re usually the plants that get sneaked away from a plant fair and into the garden quickly… before anyone knows I’ve been buying plants again – it reminds me as a child of the thrill that you’d get of going to the local sweetie shop with that wonderful array of chocolates and toffees – at least plants aren’t bad for you!
Miranda: Yes they are too tempting – especially if it is a plant I’m particularly fond of – like Geraniums. A visit to a specialist nursery would be the best sweetie shop ever!
Hi EG, no wonder you love the geraniums so, they are exquisite creatures! They must be adored from afar, your garden, for me, for we lack the moisture they need. Except the the G. libani looks and sounds very similar to our native woodland geranium. They must have similar genetic makeup. It was a passalong so I don’t know the name but the flower is the same color and shape. Your garden must be a wildflower wonderland! :-)
Frances
Frances: I would struggle to grow these ones if we had long periods of hot weather – my soil would dry out too much. It’s one advantage of our rainy weather I suppose!
You aren’t the National Collection holder by any chance, are you :-) ?
What lovely plants. Is this G. phaeum as easy to grow as the more usual types, like the Johnson’s blue?
They grow in huge patches in my garden without any intervention from me. Maybe I will branch out a little and try some of the ones you have shown us here.
I am still not sure if they prefer sun or shade, as they seem to be doing well either way.
Have you any of the double flowered ones? Some look like Parma violets almost.
Jo: If you grow Johnson’s Blue then I would think G. phaeum be fine too. I think sun or shade is fine it’s the drying out of the soil that seems to cause the problems. As my soil is light some shade helps. I lost my double Geranium a few years ago. Perhaps it’s time to try it again!
One of my favorites is G. stiratum Lancastriense, low growing and pink in color. The low dense mound of foliage is attractive all summer.
Karen: Yes it is pretty – and has large flowers for the size of the foliage which is an added attraction. Mine isn’t flowering yet.
Quite the collection you have. I’ve had mixed results trying to grow hardy geraniums but I love to see them in action. I especially love the ones with aromatic foliage.
Megan: These ones definitely prefer cool conditions but there are others that are less picky!
EG – I enjoyed reading your informative post with its excellent photos. I recognise some very familiar friends in your garden. I think that ‘Mourning Widow’ applies to the phaeum with very dark purple almost black flowers. I will try and post a photo of mine soon. I love the way that some of these hardy geraniums gently seed about and give rise to offspring of varying shades. I share The Digger’s sentiments about the smell of geranium macrorrhizums but still grow them :)
Anna: I did some investigating. There was a ‘Mourning Widow’ cultivar but it has been renamed ‘black flowered’ according to the RHS plant finder. These plant naming people can be so boring at times :-)
Hi Easygardener, I’ve never seen so many varieties of geranium! Loved going through your photos…Gearnium libani looks spectacular! Must come back to admire your photos again.
Kanak: Thank you very much! I’ll be doing another post on Geraniums which flower after April.
Very informative post! I’ve had mixed success with the mac ones. I like them very much though. I can’t believe the variety you have. Wonderful!!
Tina: I have lost Geraniums for no apparent reason – I always put it down to dry soil and too much sun. Rather ironic considering the UK’s dismal weather record (lol)
So pretty, and so many varieties.
I love deep purple flowers but find them difficult in a garden because they don’t show up very well.
Lucy
Lucy: I agree about some purple flowers being difficult to see. My smaller flowered G. phaeums are particularly retiring.
Great post. ‘Samobor’ is one of my favourites. Self-seeds with abandon. Takes quite a bit of heat and dry and still the leaves look terrific. Geranium sylvaticum ‘Album’ blooms for a very short time for me – probably less than a week – but the blossoms – they look like they’d glow in the dark.
We were at the nursery today and I fell in love with a geranium which looked kinda lavender/blue. We have such a problem with high water level. We have such poor drainage and we are in quite a rainy spell now. Today I posted a still life image I did of some pink geraniums. Drop by and “smell the flowers” at http://photographyhints.blogspot.com
Your photos are so beautiful, have you ever tried still life photography?
This is fascinating. I’ve never been able to grow geraniums in our current garden and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the clay soil. I shall now have to ‘container garden’ some varieties, based on your excellent advice. They are so elegant that it’s impossible to live without their spring beauty.
Lovely! And informative. We used to grow some hardy geraniums in Wales, but I don’t think they’d like the heat and drought here. Thanks for showing the photos of yours so we can all enjoy them!
Hi EG – a very interesting post, especially as I am looking to get some more hardy geraniums – they are fantastic flower value.
It seems the hardy geraniums start to flower very early. The top ones were called “Storchenschnabel” = storks beak, in Switzerland, the flowers were tiny and pink. I have never seen all this purple and blue colours, also an interesting and wonderful collection.
Titania: Yes, more colours have appeared over the years. I think the storks beak name probably comes from the shape of the seed pods – all geraniums have that “beaky” shape!
Thank you so much! Thanks to your photos, I now know I have a phaeum, samobor. It blooms briefly in the spring, but I love it, particularly the chocolate splashed leaves. I saw it once and bought it, and have never seen it since. Do you mind me asking what type of leaves does the sylvaticum have? I have a lower clump of light pink blooms with dark pink veins I’m trying to identify.
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