We associate the word “geranium” with the prominent splash of red globular blossoms that are the standard in window boxes on city balconies and in baskets on country porches. These annuals are actually members of the genus Pelargonium which has grown to produce myriad varieties in shades of red, orange, purple, pink, and white, along with multi-colored flowers, and cultivars grown primarily for their foliage with leaves variegated, veined, bronzed, marbled, rimmed, striped and frosted. Seasonal displays at any nursery attest to their continued popularity planted singularly and in container gardens.

The true Geranium, derived from the Greek meaning “crane”, is the perennial often referred to as “cranesbills” for the appearance of their seed casings. They grow heartily in our gardens and along our roadsides in spring. The five petals of pale pink or lavender to nearly white, or dark pink to purplish and almost blue, form the small saucers of the delicate New England wildflowers which wave above clumps of palmate leaves and resemble many of our garden varieties. Cultivars, however, are more floriferous.

Of the hundreds of varieties, several are pink.  Geranium endressii ‘Wargrave’, the most commonly grown, produces silvery pink petals that float over foliage with a similar sheen, complimenting artemesia ‘Silver Mound’ and softening the intense hue of the Lychnis “mullein pink”.  The vibrant cultivar ‘Patricia’ is perfect for the rock garden, forming small hills of magenta blossoms to invigorate foliar alpines from late spring through summer. Pale pink flowers veined in crimson smother geranium sanguineum ‘Striatum’, its tendrils spreading to swirl around other spring pastels, such as spires of lavender salvia and clouds of pale blue catmint. A darker variety, ‘Pink Penny’, blooms later in the season to partner with the darker pastels of balloon flowers and phloxes. Along the garden edge, where geraniums are always welcome, Cantabrigiense ‘Crystal Rose’ bears deep pink blossoms mid-summer, while ‘Karmina’ produces purplish pink flowers in early summer and colorful foliage in fall.

White geraniums are necessary components of the moon garden. ‘Album’ is the purest, compact mounds which spread to create a ground cover of finely serrated leaves speckled with clear white flowers in late spring.  ‘Kashmir White’ sparkles, its translucent petals larger than those of most geraniums, rising over clumps of deeply dissected foliage to put forth a spectacular glow in early summer with repeat blossoms till fall. Cultivars of the mostly white variety are quite exotic, requiring closer inspection than the distant splashes ‘Album and ‘Kashmir White’ that draw the eye. ‘Double Jewel’ is a diminutive gem with multiple layers of starry white petals with purple centers, perfect spilling over a wall, and  the award winning ‘Mrs. Kendall Clarke’ bears spring blossoms of  the most delicate lavender imaginable veined in white.

‘Johnson’s Blue’ was the first of the blue geraniums to garner attention and an award, and it remains a garden standard.  Taller than most, its nodding habit doesn’t distract from its brilliant blooms which flower most of the season with the vibrancy of peacock feathers. ‘Rozanne’, a Plant of the Year recipient, is a tidier version, flowering longer and more prolifically, its indigo blossoms bearing starry white centers which open profusely in early summer and continue sporadically till frost. While many geraniums’ foliage colors in fall, the leaves of ‘Havana Blues’ are golden in spring, prior to the emergence of its flowers, pale periwinkle with violet streaks. The two inch blossoms are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds and large for geraniums and for this plant, an eight inch dwarf.  ‘Summer Skies’ bears delicate violet ruffles of double blossoms throughout the summer, and ‘Delft Blue’ has the appearance of violet paint splashed across its white flowers.

There are a few perennial geraniums as flamboyant as the bright red annual. Geranium ‘Sanguine’, or “Bloody Cranesbill” for the red coloration of its autumn leaves, is the strongest geranium in color and stature. In late spring, the solid rounded mounds forming in the rock garden are smothered with fluorescent magenta petals to complement violet carpets of woolly thyme, to invigorate the soft lavender mist of catmint, or to create striking contrasts with the chartreuse froth of lady’s mantle. Sparser blossoms repeat all summer. The magenta petals with black centers of the more recent cultivars, ‘Splendens’ and ‘Dragon Hearts’, are also arresting in the rock garden.

On the opposite spectrum are the very subtle cultivars grown primarily for their scent, though their attributes are several, starting with a tolerance of dry shady which makes them wonderful candidates for ground covers underneath shrubs.  In our garden Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Ingwersen’s Variety’ skirts Viburnum sargentii ‘Onodaga’ to perfection.  The geranium’s soft pink tubular petals circling the blossoms’ rose throats mirror the shrub’s inflorescence of pale pink florets surrounding sterile raspberry blooms. The geranium’s spreading tendrils form a dense carpet to anchor the columnar shrub, its foliage emerging maroon along with its blossoms before maturing to summer’s dark green. Both the foliage of the shrub and the geranium ignite in the fall with orange and red flames. Yet it’s the scent of the geranium’s aromatic leaves, a heavenly perfume, which is especially prized.  Geranium cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’, a Plant of the Year recipient, is an exceptional scented specimen with dainty white petals flushed pink.

There are a few geraniums which one must view up close to appreciate. These include “Ballerina”, a small clump of fine foliage in the rock garden, or among other ethereal plants, lifting its soft pink flowers veined in wine to float beneath airborne umbels of heliotrope and the fluff of filipendula. “Espresso”, so named for its large bronze, sharply divided leaves, has pale lavender, darkly veined petals, eventually maturing to white, providing a spectacular contrast of foliage and flower. “Raven” bears broad, plum colored blooms in May, with repeat flowering throughout the summer and into early fall. It’s glossy, almost black blossoms require pale companions, such as “Moonbeam” coreopsis, to show. ‘Midnight Cloud’ deserves a prominent place on the garden edge.  A magical plant, its white flowers flushed palest pink sprinkle themselves over the velvety purple foliage like a gossamer veil, hence the name.

From the rock garden, through broad ribbons across the rims of perennial borders, to intimate niches, there’s always room for geraniums. And there’s always room for the annual commonly called “geranium”, too, particularly where expanses of greenery require a splash of color. In a garden where chartreuse bamboo became rampant to the point of eliminating everything except the trees and shrubs that provide seasonal displays there, a single red geranium hanging in the center from the limb of a willow supplies the garden with sufficient vibrancy all summer. And, of course, they’re always welcome on the porch.

Dayna McDermott