27-05-2025
10 hardy geraniums to add to your garden this summer
Hard-working heroes of the spring and summer garden, hardy geraniums are having a comeback. Many would insist that they never left. The name often mistakenly summons up the stalwart of the window box – the bright and jolly pelargonium, grown as tender annuals or house plants in the UK.
Although related, hardy geraniums are in a category of their own: endlessly useful, often more subtle, and none the worse for that. They flower vigorously, in shades of pink, purple, blue and white, and their foliage is often lovely in its own right. They're wonderfully low maintenance, come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, are loved by pollinators, and are largely pest- and disease-resistant.
There is a hardy geranium for every spot in the garden, from the sunniest borders to the driest shade. Every garden deserves at least a few of these wonderful plants.
For border impact
Geranium psilostemon
Magenta can be a tricky colour to pull off in the garden, but the deeply cut green leaves of Geranium psilostemon are a good foil for the irresistible mass of black-eyed flowers borne throughout the summer. It can get as tall as 1.2m, so is good for the middle or back of the border. For a similarly dramatic magenta flower, Geranium 'Ann Folkard' is also worth trying. It is a slightly smaller plant (60cm), with leaves that emerge a contrasting yellow in spring before maturing to green.
Geranium Rozanne ('Gerwat' PBR)
Of the huge number of blue geraniums out there, the ever-fashionable Rozanne, stalwart of Chelsea gardens (and shortlisted for the RHS plant of the centenary) is notorious for good reason. The beautiful violet-blue, white-eyed flowers go on and on, from June to October, especially if it is trimmed back lightly after first flowering. At 60cm, it has a tendency to flop, but it looks wonderful weaving through and propped up by other perennials in a sunny border. It has far overtaken the once ubiquitous Geranium x johnsonii 'Johnson's Blue' in popularity – though Geranium 'Orion' and Geranium 'Brookside' are other good, reliable blues.
Geranium x oxonianum 'Wargrave Pink'
Occasionally there is a call for a bright salmon pink to lift a planting scheme, and here 'Wargrave Pink' comes into its own (albeit a pretty, silvery salmon). Extremely long flowering, from May to October, these floriferous, unfussy clumps grow to about 60cm, in sun or part shade. The foliage itself is pretty, too: deeply divided and semi-evergreen, it works well as a loose edge to a border or path.
For deepest shade
Geranium macrorrhizum 'Spessart'
Geranium macrorrhizum is a doer: happy anywhere, even in dry shade, especially when left to its own devices. This lovely variety has a rather prettier flower than the magenta of the species – a pale pinkish white set off by red calyxes above fresh green foliage. Semi-evergreen, with some autumn colour from its aromatic leaves, it is most useful as ground cover, growing to about 40cm, or when used as an edging plant along a border or drive. Other good varieties of Geranium macrorrhizum are 'White-Ness', for a pure white flower, or 'Ingwerson's Variety' for more of a candyfloss pink.
Geranium phaeum var. phaeum 'Samobor'
Another star of the shady border, this variety comes into its own in late spring, when tall maroon flowers nod above the dark-splashed foliage. Growing to 60cm or more, it may need staking, though it looks very much at home flopping among ferns in a loose, woodland-style scheme.
The straight-up Geranium phaeum is also lovely, though the leaves tend to be less dramatically marked; the white flowers of Geranium phaeum 'Album' can lift a shady corner beautifully. Also worth noting is Geranium sylvaticum 'Album', a native of the British woodland edge, which, though it prefers moist conditions, will tolerate some dry shade.
For edging and ground cover
Geranium renardii
The low-growing dwarf cranesbill has beautiful, rounded grey-green foliage, more reminiscent of pelargoniums than other hardy geraniums. It can be somewhat shy of flowering, but its delicate, pale, deeply veined flowers are worth waiting for when they emerge in summer. It thrives in poor soil, in sun or part shade, so works well either as ground cover beneath the dappled canopy of bigger plants or tumbling over the edge of a border.
Geranium clarkei 'Kashmir White'
Throughout the summer, large white flowers with distinct mauve veins rise above beautifully dissected leaves. This mounding geranium will form spreading carpets of groundcover (45cm high) towards the front of a border and is happy in full sun to partial shade. G. clarkei 'Kashmir Blue' and 'Kashmir Pink' are also pretty cultivars.
Geranium 'Mavis Simpson'
The attractive, soft pink flowers of this geranium are held above silvery green foliage from June to October. Near evergreen, useful and low growing, it will tolerate some shade and comes in handy as ground cover.
Geranium sanguineum 'Album'
This low-growing geranium has neat hummocks of the purest white flowers from late spring into summer. Leaves are finely cut and delicate, often taking on good autumn colour. Happy in full sun to partial shade, it is perfect for ground cover, the edges of borders, and in rock gardens. Other varieties of Geranium sanguineum span from palest pink through purple to the vivid magenta of the species.
For wild edges
Geranium pratense
Native to the UK, the meadow cranesbill can be found growing wild in verges and fields across the country. There are various cultivars perhaps more easily found in a garden centre (Geranium pratense 'Mrs Kendall Clark', for example), but the species cannot be beaten for its beautiful blueish flowers, natural effect, and ability to self-seed in sun or light shade. It can be used to great effect when combined with grasses at the wild edges of the garden, in meadows, or in wildlife schemes.
How to grow geraniums
Most varieties will tolerate a wide range of soils and aspects, as long as not waterlogged (though some are especially tolerant of dry shade, see above). Once established, hardy geraniums are largely self-sufficient.
Although the majority of geraniums are fairly low-maintenance plants, it is worth cutting them back after flowering – particularly the more vigorous varieties – to encourage new growth and a second crop of flowers. They are also very easy to divide once established.
