Pelargonium Species World

A wildlife garden can bring beauty and tranquillity to your surrounds with butterflies, birds, bees, and other wildlife.

Bringing wildlife to your garden has many benefits, we have a better connection with nature where we can learn to co-exist with the natural environment and encourage insects such as butterflies, dragonflies, bees, birds, reptiles and amphibians to your surroundings while creating a peaceful and relaxing retreat.

Making a wildlife garden supports the local flora and fauna while providing them with a nature inspired habitat such as a sanctuary for solitary bees, ladybirds, & beetles made out of bamboo canes, old logs, bricks, twigs and straw or a wildflower meadow, a rock garden, a pond, bog garden or a water feature to encourage frogs, birds and dragonflies.

Flowers & nectar rich plants not only look attractive in the garden but can also appeal to insect pollinators such as bees, butterflies and moths which collect pollen and  for birds which eat seeds and berries.

 A bird house, bird table, hanging feeders or a bird bath can also help encourage birds to your surroundings especially if they are close to the house where you can view them from your window.

Trees, shrubs, hedging and wall climbers are also great for providing a hiding place or an nesting area for birds and also lizards. 

Earthworms are great for aerating and improving the quality of the soil and can also provide food for various wildlife.

Leaving in weeds such as dandelions, daisies, thistles, poppies, bell flowers, doves-foot, bind-weed and wild carrot not only encourages bees, butterflies and other insects but can look amazing in a wild flower meadow with long grasses in a small area of your garden or mixed with plants within a raised border, Ants are also good for gathering and dispersing seeds. 

 Adding a variety of different shaped flowers to your garden can encourage several types of insects.

Flower shapes include tubular, bell, funnel, saucer, rosette and funnel shapes which come in many colours and sizes.

Some bees, wasps, moths and butterflies have long tongues known as proboscis which feed on pollen and nectar and can reach far into the flower, Some flower types are also only pollinated by hummingbirds.

 Other ideas to encourage wildlife include: creating a home for solitary bees, a wildlife garden, bog, water feature or a pond, attract more butterflies and a haven for birds.

Mixed borders-advice for maintaining or planning your border

Mixed borders have gained popularity in the coming years, moving away from the more traditional herbaceous borders which were grown tightly together in large rectangular beds based on their colour and height with tiny flowers at the front, medium in the centre and taller 6 ft plants at the back.

Mixed borders are easier to keep and are usually mixed together with annuals, perennials, biennials, shrubs and low growing trees of similar heights but the density of the plants are chosen more carefully, more airy plants like delicate ornamental grasses and flowers on long stalks can look striking mixed with more dense plants in the flower bed and also with deciduous trees, flowering shrubs, rosebushes,lilies and hedges.

Airy plants include: Cimicifuga (feathery spikes of white flowers), Delphinium (long flower spikes of various colours), Eremurus( foxtail lily ), Echinops (globe thistle), Kniphofia (colourful flower spikes), Lobelia, Allium, Armeria, Aquilegia. Camassia, Fritillaria, bottle bush types such as pennisetum& pennisetum(fountain grass).

Dense shrubs include : Button bush, Butterfly bush, Rose of sharon, Azalea, lilac, Quince, Dentzia, Forsythia, Weigela, Cinquefoil, Shrub rose, Potentilla, Rhododendron, Viburnum, Lavender, Sage, Mallow, Phlox, Geraniums, Campanula, Hemerocallis(day lily) and tall upright pelargoniums such  as P. Vitifolium & P. Denticulatum. They can also be mixed with simplistic and architectural shaped foliage to make your border more interesting, brightly coloured or Zoned leaves can also look effective.

When planning or improving your border think about the colours, height, density, growth size and season of flowering thought the year. The style of the border is also important so that that it blends well with the rest of the garden, such as a wild natural border, a border with similar colours such as gold-yellows, purple- blue, dark-pale pinks. A natural woodland garden with ferns, hollyhocks and bluebells, rock border with succulent type species or a border mixed with roses. They can also be based on a certain theme as as modern, contemporary, traditional, romantic, sculptural,or based on a theme such as a rustic, Japanese, Zen, European, Mediterranean or  Asian gardens. The edging of the border can vary, the traditional brick & stone edging is the most popular because it last longer than other edging types and is usually cemented to keep them in place, although some types do tend to be more expensive and can also be part of a patio design, They can also be positioned in different ways, they can be laid diagonally, as stone edging such a flagstone and cobble stone, a natural stone wall, or you may prefer a border with hedges, wooden edging, logs or sleepers. Wooden edging can look effective in the garden but doesn't usually last so long as it tends to rot, but this can depend on what style you wish to achieve. Or for a more simple approach you can use cinder blocks as edging  which can be cemented and painted or small metal border fence edging ,wattle fencing if you like an more rustic look. Mixing in an organic matter such as from a compost bin into the soil of the border can help improve its quality , this can be done once a year in Spring or Autumn which can also help with drainage in the soil. You may also think about lifting plants out gently, removing any dead leaves & stems and dividing plants to stop them growing too close together every four to five years.

Ideal plants for border perennials

Perennials are typically Spring and Summer flowering plants which die back in Autumn and Winter & then re growth occurs again in Spring, although this is not always the case. Some types still thrive throughout the Winter and can live for many years but this can also depend on temperature and location. Perennial types include evergreen, deciduous, monocarpic, woody or herbaceous.

Evergreens are great for adding colour to the garden during the winter months such as the blue flowered Brunnera, Helleborus in various colours, Nepeta with blue grey aromatic foliage and the Stachys pink flowers on long stems. Deciduous-When you read the word deciduous you immediately think of trees dropping their leaves in Autumn but in fact there are a few plants & shrubs which also shed their petals & fruit. Deciduous perennials include the bright yellow flowered Goldrod, the highly fragrant honeysuckle, white flowered viburnum, Grapes, wisteria & poison ivy.

Monocarpic are perennials which are short lived, they grow only to flower, produce seed and then die, these include the  Acanthacease group of flowering plants, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Agavaceae, Araceae and Fabaceae.

Woody perennials have woody stems and roots that continue to grow after each season, these can be trees, shrubs or wood climbing plants know as lianas. Woody perennials include rosemary, mulberry, blackberry, honeysuckle, and apple.

Herbaceous perennials have fresh green stems which are not woody and is usually a herb that is used in food or for medicinal properties, these include grasses, ferns, vines, trees, shrubs and some bamboo types. Such as Peonies, Salvia, Poppies, Aquilegia(columbine), bananas, cone flower (echinacea), daffodils are examples of Herbaceous perennials. Other perennials ideal for borders include: Acanthus Achillea-yarrow, Agapanthus-African lily, Anemone, Catananche-cupids dart, Cimicifuga-long flowering spikes,Eremurus-foxtail lily, Centaurea-cornflower, Chrysanthemum-daisy, Delphinium, Echinops-globe thistle, Evigeron, Lupin,Linum,Physostegia,

Two different colour flowers of pelargonium peltatum is now in bloom.

The flowers are of shades of white, pink or pale purple and each flowering stalk has 2-9 flowers.The leaves are rounded, fleshy with a slightly succulent appearance usually with a dark zone in the centre, the sap from the leaves can be taken for a sore throat & also the leaves when grinded into a paste can be applied  to scratches, light burns and wounds as an antiseptic.

The first garden was believed to have been created in 10,000 BC in the middle east (The Levant) a Mediterranean region, the Fertile Crescent was a wide expense of land which was similar in shape to a first quarter phase of the moon, which contained wild grasses of  barley and wheat so that hunter gathers would grow there own food instead of searching for miles to find it and could then live closer together in settlements. Later when the advancement of human society began to develop gardens were more appreciated for their attractiveness and was regarded more as a luxury. The Epic of Gilgamesh contains the earliest recorded gardens from the year 2100 BC when Uruk the ancient city of Sumer was built upon a large manmade hill, the upper hill contained buildings & temples and the lower areas of the hill was said to contain gardens with ponds, orchards, date palms and fallow fields, it also had water canal irrigation systems to water  plants. From the 16th century BC the ancient Egyptians  created gardens for decorative use, garden cultivation & design seen from early wall paintings containing ponds with lotus plants surrounded by lines of acacia and palm trees. 

Over the centuries new garden ideas & layouts where being created, manly for the use of herbs for medicine and vegetables for providing food. The raised border was first created during the middle ages in Europe but was restricted to monasteries and the wealthy who owned manor houses. Local saplings were woven together to create fences and filled with soil to make raised beds, usually rectangular in shape, they were used in kitchen gardens, vegetable and herb gardens and infirmary gardens. During the Elizabethan era in England cottage gardens became fashionable and were mainly for easy access to herbs, vegetables and fruit around the cottage grounds, but also contained a variety of flowers such as old roses, hollyhocks, Sweet William, primrose, violets and calendula. Present day cottage gardens have a mixture of different plants in a border directly outside the cottage with stone or turf pathways, this style has a natural feel with well balanced colours and various flower shapes and fragrances, sometimes mixed with long grasses, these often replaced lawns with many flowers and herbs grown close to each other to reduce the need for weeding.

The potager is a formal garden design in France,  consisting of a mixture of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs grown together in borders, edging beds such as wattle fencing, containers or divided by hedges, walls or pathways. It is usually grown organically and some of the flowers are editable ideal for a kitchen garden, Pelargoniums and geraniums also grow well in this type of garden style with plants such as chives, cauliflower, broccoli, gladiolus, hyssop, peppers, marigolds, strawberries, violets, lettuce & mallows and many more.

Article from May2020 newsletter www.pelargoniumspeciesworld.com

Erodium pelargoniuniflorum also known as sweetheart or heron's bill has attractive pale pink flowers that are similar to a pelargonium because of the darker markings on the upper petals which many pelargoniums possess,  it was given the name pelargoniflorum because of the pelargonium like flowers.

P. incarnatum is an unusual and attractive plant that has more of the appearance of a Geranium or Erodum because of its symmetric petals but it is in fact classified as a pelargonium, It is a bit of a mystery as it is the only Erodum type to be found South of the Equator and it is believed to be a hybrid between Erodum incarnatum and Pelargonium patulium.

The amazing thing about Pelargoniums is not only the aromatic leaf fragrances & the elegant flowers but also the wide variety of leaf shapes, Many pelargonium species especially the more scented varieties have leaves that resemble other plants and can look similar to the leaves of an oak, grape vine, fern,birch, currant leaves, gooseberry, maple & ivy.

Some leaf types are more rounded in shape such as the P. odoratissmum (apple scented) and the P. grossularioides (gooseberry leaved fruit scented), where as the P. cucullatum (birch leaved), P. citronellum (lemon scented) & the P. vitifolium have more irregular rounded to triangular leaves.

P. radens (rose/lemon scented), P. quericifolium (balsam oak leaf) and P. denticulatum (balsam scented) have finely divided leaves,

P. elongatum, P. mollicomum (pineapple scented) , P. peltatum & P. Zonale all have zoned leaves

P. betulium – birch leaf

P. fruticosum- fern leaf

P. grossularioides- gooseberry

P. hirtum- feathery leaves

P. hispidum- maple

P. otaviense – paw like

P. panduriforme – fiddle shaped

P. peltatum – ivy leaf

P. quercifolium – oak

P. ribifolium- currant leaf