Geranium Blog

Golden Lemon Crispum

Golden Lemon Crispum sounds like a tasty bakery delight, but it is in fact a variegated scented geranium. The leaves are bordered in yellow and have a lemon scent. The flowers are light lavendar.

Coral Canna

The coral cannas (I don't know the "real" name) have burst into bloom. The flowers are speckled with deeper coral spots and there is just a touch of yellow at the center. The leaves are bronze. They grow about 3 feet tall. I grow them in a big pot next to the pool.

Pelargonium ribifolium

P. ribifolium is an incredibly exuberant bloomer. Smooth maple-like leaves have a sweetly pungent scent. The flowers are pure white with deep pink markings.

What An Angel!

Wychwood is a Pansy-faced geranium - a part of the Angel Pelargoniums. It grows as an upright little bush with medium green leaves. The flowers are deep plum on top with the palest lavendar lower petals. The foliage has a pleasant rose-citrus scent.

So what are the Angel Pelargoniums? They are floriferous, branching bushes that grow long stems. There are two groups of Angels: The original group was developed around 1825. This group's parentage is unknown and it is unscented. The modern Angel Pelargoniums were first developed in the 1930s. One of the parents of this group is Pelargonium crispum, the lemon scented geranium. So the scented-leaf factor was introduced.

Spring Park Lemon

Spring Park is a lemon scented geranium.

Pink Champagne

No bubbles here, but you might think you are drunk when you see the size of these flowers. They are just enormous for a geranium - 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" across. The leaves are leathery on sturdy erect branches. P. 'Pink Champagne' is a lime scented geranium.

How Hot Pink Do You Want It?

P. limoneum might have the pinkest flower ever. The roundish top petals give them a fat-cheeked look. The flowers are smallish - about a 1/2" across. The serrated leaves are small as well on thin woody stems that reach 2 feet in length.

P. limoneum looks nice displayed in an elevated position so the stems can hang down. It has the same free spirit quality as P. 'Strawberry'. In fact, those two look great together.

Pelargonium 'Roller's Satinique'

Roller's Satinique is another one of the Uniques. In fact it looks a lot like Old Scarlet Unique except for the lovely coral flowers. Very feminine. Roller's Satinique is a forest scented geranium.

A Gardenia Scented Geranium

I just wanted to show you how Arucana is coming along. She has developed into an upright bush with deep green maple shaped leaves. Heavy blooming has not stopped for even one day all spring. And now that hot weather is here, a very noticable sweet gardenia scent arises when the foliage is jostled. We have had temperatures of 90+ degrees(F) yet Arucana has easily tolerated the heat and 4 hours of direct afternoon sun. So many good qualities! Is this the greatest scented geranium ever? Stay tuned.

You're So Unique

Pelargonium 'Old Scarlet Unique'

Old Scarlet Unique just loves to have her picture taken. She is constantly trying to draw attention to herself. If you want her to keep blooming - and of course, you do - be careful when deadheading to only remove the spent umbrels, NOT the branch that the umbrels are on! These branches will continue to produce flowers all summer.

The Uniques are an old group of Pelargoniums from the 1800s. They are treated as scented geraniums and include the apricot types. P. 'Old Scarlet Unique' is a pungent scented geranium.

Not So Minor

P. crispum 'Minor' is a lemon scented geranium. It has very tiny crispum-style leaves and an upright growth habit. In theory, Fingerbowl Lemon is the same as Crispum Minor, but my two plants don't look exactly the same so I am continuing to call them as labeled by their original growers.

Breaking News Alert - Praying Mantis Sighted in Coconut Geranium

Mantis Mania returned to Sunshine Hill Gardens with the sighting of the Spring's first praying mantis. And he's so big: already an inch and a half long! No doubt this guy has been munching on lots of tasty bugs.

Last year, I put out two praying mantis egg cases and was lucky enough to see the hatchling mantids emerge from one of them. This year, I put out two more, but didn't see them hatch so it really made me happy to see one today.

Mother's Day Flowers

Happy Mother's Day!

White Glitter

White Glitter flowers are white splattered with red. It is a stellar geranium, a subgroup of the zonal geraniums. The stellars have pointy petals and fan-shaped leaves.

True Capitatum

True Capitatum has roundish ruffled leaves and a sprawling growth habit. The umbrels of lavendar flowers are like perfect little bouquets. And how about those seedheads? True Capitatum is a rose scented geranium.

Mrs. Taylor Makes An Entrance

Mrs. Taylor is blooming profusely with medium size bright red flowers. The dark green crinkled leaves make a stunning backdrop for this display. Mrs. Taylor is a musk scented geranium or some say vinagarette(?!).

Rose Splash

I'm so proud of my Rose Splash geranium! The semi-double flowers are a rich rose pink with red spots all around the center. The foliage is dark green and forms a perfect little mound.

Blanket Flower

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Pelargonium fruticosum

The foliage of P. fruticosum has a delicate ferny look and a light pungent scent. The flowers are a lovely pale pink. If it weren't for the flowers, it wouldn't even look like a geranium.

Upright Coconut Geranium

Upright Coconut is a charming little jewel. So much to love: the zoned leaves, the tiny butter yellow flowers that always point down, the ridiculously large cranesbills. It starts readily from seed and thank goodness, because it doesn't seem to live for very long. Think of it as a biennial.

Shocking Red

Old Scarlet Unique knows the meaning of the word "RED". The leaves are very fuzzy and this gives them a distinctive silvery appearance. Scarlet is a pungent scented geranium.

Pelargonium 'Southernwood'

I love this scented geranium so much! The foliage is an elegant grey-green, tastefully accented with medium-sized white flowers. Faint purple streaking completes the ensemble. And even though Southernwood looks dainty and frilly, it seems to be a tolerant and vigorous plant.