Adding Geraniums to a Landscape
Although the name geranium is usually used to describe the bright-flowered summer bedding annuals, perennial geraniums are the true geraniums from a botanical point of view.
Geraniums, also commonly called cranesbill or hardy geraniums, produce masses of flowers with fluttery, thin petals in luminous colour shades of rose, white, blue, lavender, purple, and carmine, and some flowers are punctuated with darker centers and veins.
Each charming flower is about 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter, and the blooms are held loosely on stems that range from a few inches to 2 ft (0.6 m) long, depending on the species.
The ferny, divided foliage is deep green through spring and summer, often with chocolate markings, and changes to shades of fiery red and orange in fall.
Sprucing up your Garden with Geraniums
Geraniums play plenty of garden roles beyond being accents in the perennial border, where they provide soft color for many weeks. Some geraniums can be used as groundcovers, and others are sufficiently wild to hold their own in a woodland setting.