Photo: Crash Test Mike (flickr)
Cool fall days give gardeners the incentive to divide perennials, so that new starts can be established before the winter.
The hardy geraniums, commonly knows as cranesbills, are easy to divide and good weed inhibitors. They are long-lived perennials with flowers in shades of magenta, pink, purple, blue or white. Most have lacy foliage and mound and weave around other perennials in sun or part shade. They bloom early in the season but some will rebloom if they have been cut back.
Some also display colourful fall foliage. They are easy-care plants and look well at the feet of taller plants and under shrubs. I have been moving them around my garden and it is satisfying to see the progeny of established plants take root in new spots.
War on Weeds
Last fall I alternated ‘Johnson’s Blue’ and the pink ‘Clarence Druce’ in front of my hydrangeas and this year I am putting starts of the white ‘Phaeum’ which likes some shade, near my green and white hostas.
I am determined to plant divisions anywhere I can find a bare spot. It is part of my war on weeds.