One of my favourite plants in the garden is coming in to bloom now that Spring is here.
A little cluster of Rose Geranium flowers.
While its little pink flower clusters are very pretty, they are not the reason I love this beautiful plant. Rather, it is the strong musky-rose scent, released by this geranium's leaves, that make it a favourite. Whenever I brush past it, or gently rub a leaf between my fingers, I catch a drift of its rosy perfume and breathe that in deeply. So beautiful!
My Rose Geranium grows really well in a position where it receives lots of morning sun but is somewhat sheltered in the afternoon. The soil where it grows is free draining and so I just give my Rose Geranium a deep watering whenever I feel the soil is a touch dry. Definitely, a low maintenance plant in my garden!
Little buds forming on my Rose Geranium.
Lots of fragrant leaves on my Rose Geranium.
There are many different kinds of scented geraniums, from those whose leaves smell like roses to those that are lemony or minty. I hope to add some different scents to my garden by swapping cuttings of my Rose Geranium for cuttings of some of the other-scented types.
Do you grow scented geraniums? If so, what's your favourite?
Meg
Goodmorning Meg, I don't grow them but I have always wanted to. Remember the TV show "Burkes Backyard"? Donkeys years ago there was a wonderful story on there about growing geraniums in wire baskets, attached to a sunny wall, he was in Italy at the time and he found the geraniums everywhere in gorgeous wire baskets on sunny terracotta coloured walls. They looked just so beautiful, lots of colour and such a robust plant to take to sun without too much watering. Maybe one day I will have a go at achieving that look. Have a lovely day.
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I do remember "Burke's Backyard", Fiona, and I remember seeing gorgeous geraniums growing in window boxes in Italy too. I have a deep red geranium in a pot that is in flower at the moment and it's so red! Hope you've had a great day. Meg:)
DeleteIsn't it just beautiful Meg? I do love my rose geraniums, although they've taken over the gardens in some spots. Oh so delicious to brush past on a summer evening. :) X
ReplyDeleteYes, very beautiful scent, Sally. I love the little flowers and the shape of the leaves too. Meg:)
DeleteHi Meg, I am not growing any geraniums but would love to. I love the red ones the best. I remember going to a public garden somewhere and seeing all the different scented ones, only a few months back. I didn't realise they had ones with different scents. Are they edible?
ReplyDeleteHi, Belinda. I believe that you can use the leaves of scented geraniums (which are botanically known as Pelargoniums - Scented Leave Group) to scent foods like sugars and jellies. I have been reading also about how to use their scented leaves to make an essential oil. Meg:)
DeleteHi Meg, I used to have some scented geraniums in my garden. They smelled divine! I had a rose one and a chocolate mint. They were really fragrant. I think I used to make tea with them...
ReplyDeleteOoo, a chocolate mint geranium sounds heavenly, I've not come across one of those before. Must seek one out! Meg:)
Deletei love scented geraniums, love ALL geraniums. i have an ivy geranium which looks like blood velvet (sorry it's the best description) it's out in a terracotta pot, haven't been able to get a cutting going of that one yet; i also have a few scented ones; mint-rose; citrus -(orange i think) rose; peppermint; & another which i can't name which is minty mixed smell as well, hope to put them out in my front garden eventually.
ReplyDeletei like to put a few leaves in tea on occasion, very refreshing.
Mudbrick Cottage has many different varieties.
great post, your garden is looking lovely
thanx for sharing
Hi, Selina. What a lovely collection of geraniums you've described, they will be lovely when you plant them in your front garden. I like how they generally do very well in pots too. My red geranium needs repotting actually but just haven't gotten to it yet. I've not heard of Mudbrick Cottage, will be checking that out! Thanks for visiting me here. Meg:)
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