On a blustery winter day, one of the things we love to do is go to the library. The great staff there always has a wonderful display of books on certain topics to pique your interest; and once you have browsed through those books, head over to the gardening books.
There are so many books on gardens that it’s hard to pick just one armful to read! Lois Hole, the late, great Canadian gardening guru, had a wonderful line of books with so much practical advice suited to our climate.
I was reading about bedding plants; one of the sections was about geraniums. There was a question listed: what is the difference between zonal, hybrid, ivy, and vegetative geraniums?
I didn’t know, so I read on and this is what I learned.
“Zonal geraniums” are the most common geranium, the one that we are used to seeing with poufy flower heads above lush foliage. They come in a variety of colors and can really make a planter or flowerbed pop. “Hybrid geraniums” come from seed and are similar to the zonal geranium, but they are shorter and bushier. The flowerheads they produce are smaller, but there are plenty of them. It was suggested that these are great for windowboxes or mass planting in a border in our yards. “Ivy geraniums” are well known to us, with their lovely hanging habit, and smooth leaves. “Vegetative geraniums” are geraniums that are propagated from cuttings. Makes sense!
Then I went on to read about “European Ivy Geraniums”. Lois Hole described them this way: “These are a type of ivy geranium commonly found throughout Europe, hence the name. European ivy geraniums have smaller, waxy leaves and masses of single flowers which cover the plants’ vigorous, arching branches. If you have ever seen a postcard of a summer chalet in the Swiss Alps, these are the gorgeous red and pink flowers tumbling from the chalet window boxes.” Further in the article, her son Jim adds this comment: “Recent breeding developments have brought these plants back to the forefront. They lost popularity in North America in the 70’s because of their leggy growth habit and limited blooms. New varieties have a mounding, vigorous growth habit and are covered in flowers.”
(I noticed that this book was printed in 2000, so there are probably even more developments since then. We’ll have to check with the experts at the greenhouses in the spring and see what’s new!)
I also learned that “pansy geraniums” and “Martha Washington geraniums” are often used interchangeably for the same plant, which might also be called “Regal” geraniums. These are the geraniums with the flowers that look like the cheery little faces of pansies, and quite often have scented leaves. The colors on these blooms are like jewels, very vibrant and deep.
I know many of you bring in your geraniums and that makes a great head-start to your spring plantings. There are so many colors and types of geraniums, and so many sizes. A dear gardening friend of ours had a beautiful little geranium, with small leaves and very small delicate flowers, almost like bridal lace. Just lovely! And I remember seeing one variety that had stunning lime green leaves with a burgundy border; it wouldn’t have mattered if the plant bloomed at all, the leaves were so beautiful.
So many plants, so little time! As my Sweet Pea and my Great-Grammie always said, you never stop learning! Hope you have time to curl up with a great gardening book on these chilly days! Have a great week!
