Plants

Geranium is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the greatest diversity in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.

Geraniums are to be found everywhere: houses, gardens, window boxes and hanging baskets. They are great value, easy to grow and reward the grower with abundant bright flowers in a variety of colours all through summer and autumn. It is estimated that more than 40 million geraniums are grown in the UK alone every year. 

The geranium is the national flower of Switzerland.

The leaves and flowers of scented geraniums are edible and are often used to decorate meat dishes and deserts as well as flavouring for puddings, drinks and teas. 

The essential oils in scented geraniums have been used to treat depression and stress. The geranium’s scent while being pleasant to humans is disliked by insects and will keep mosquitoes and wasps away. 

Geraniums can be easily propagated from cuttings. You need to watch out for aphids and whitefly as they will greedily eat your geraniums. Mould can be a problem on indoor plants when there is not sufficient ventilation