"When in doubt, plant a geranium" (Margery Fish)
I am in doubt...lots of it - I want a lovely blooming garden by June and I don't want to toil too much to get it. I've planted up all my shrubs and stuff and if I were a patient soul, I would just sit back now, hoe in hand to nuke the odd weed, and wait for everything to fill out and cover the bare soil....but typically, I want this to happen in a trice. The answer is a hardy geranium or fifty.
I love, adore and revere hardy geraniums, particularly when they're planted by the boat-load (or 'en masse' as the gardening world likes to describe it). I ordered as many as I could afford from this place a couple of weeks ago, (brilliantly knowledgeable they were too, and very helpful in choosing the varieties) and they arrived looking deliciously gorgeous but painfully small.
There are three varieties:
'Dragon Heart' for the Bee border (deep pink with a black centre)
'Orion' for the lawn borders (blue as blue is blue)
'Buxton's variety' for the Apple borders (paler, softer blue and used to an altogether shadier time)
I planted them today - each one tucked in nicely and watered with love, and I'm hoping these will wash my garden with colour, and that this will last well into autumn....let's wait and see if anything comes of my geranium dreams...