Nature’s Garden
Throughout early summer I have been enjoying the flowers of the perennial geraniums growing in my garden. For many people, geraniums are those plants you buy at garden centers in late spring to plant in containers for summer-long flowers.
The common name of these delightful garden plants is geranium, but they actually belong to another plant genus, Pelargonium, that is primarily native to South Africa.
True geraniums-also called cranesbill-are found in most temperate climate regions around the world. Since we are in a temperate climate, they make good garden plants for us.
True geraniums are versatile plants with lobed or toothed leaves that are quite attractive in their own right. And it’s nice to know that perennial cranesbill is also typically long-lived.
Cranesbill gets its botanical and common name because of the appearance of its seed pods. Geranium is derived from the Greek word geranos which means “a crane,” and the seed pods do look like the head and long beak of a crane. When the seed pods are mature they burst open, propelling and scattering their contents. Now is a good time of year to observe the seed pods forming and bursting open.
As for cranesbill species in general, plant hybridizers have created a wide variety of cultivars with flowers ranging in color from white to pink to purple. Some varieties are taller, others trailing, some spread across the ground and make good groundcovers. My preference is for the native cranesbill.
Geranium maculatum is easy to grow and adaptable to both sun and shade. It is a charming native wildflower that grows in mounds about 1-foot high and across, covered with pink, five-petalled flowers in spring, and sporadically through the summer. The medium green leaves are palmate in shape, with finger-like lobes that are toothed and divided in an almost fern-like manner.
While there are several cranesbill species native to the United States, G. maculatum is the only one we have in the east; its range stretching from Maine down into the southeast and well into the Midwest.
Earlier this summer I was introduced to another type of cranesbill that intrigued me: one called Stinking Bob. Since bringing Bob home, I have learned that he is not a native of the U.S., but he is a true geranium. G. robertianum hales from Eurasia and he has quite a few common names, including Herb Robert and Red Robin.
One source claims Herb Robert is named after a saint. Another source says the plant belonged to that mischievous house goblin Robin Goodfellow-the name Robin, of course, being a nickname of Robert.
I kind of like calling my new plant Stinking Bob, because he is aromatic. And that’s one of the reasons I brought Stinking Bob to my garden, because of his disagreeable odor. As much as I like the native species, so do deer. I’m hoping Stinking Bob’s strong mousy odor-which I can’t really smell unless I get my nose real close-will not encourage browsing.
Another reason I brought Stinking Bob home is because he’s a pretty plant.
Stinking Bob is smaller in size than my native cranesbill, and he has smaller flowers, too, but they are bright pink. The leaves are tinged with or are reddish in color. It is truly one of nature’s mysteries why such a pretty plant can smell so bad.
But beauty can be deceiving. Stinking Bob is described as an annual or biennial, but is a ready self-seeder. Because of that fact, I will have to keep a close eye on him. Stinking Bob does not have the reputation of being a pest to home gardeners, but in some parts of the country, particularly the Pacific Northwest, he is becoming troublesome if he escapes the garden. Fortunately, his shallow root system means he’s easy to pull.
Still, I’m hoping Bob will behave himself and complement the native geraniums that already call my garden home.
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Susan Brimo-Cox gardens, observes nature and writes in Ohiopyle.
Readers can send questions or comments to her at naturesgarden@brimo-cox.com.