Geranium (Cinereum Group) 'Ballerina'
cranesbill
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: fast growing
- Flowering period: May to July
- Hardiness: fully hardy
This early-flowering, dwarf geranium has small, deep pink flowers with maroon veins and centres and pretty, deeply cut, grey-green leaves. It looks particularly good planted en masse in a rock garden, or at the edge of a raised border, where its rather shy flowers can be appreciated. Provided it has good drainage, it will produce a mass of attractively veined pink flowers from late spring to early summer. - Garden care: In midsummer rejuvenate plants that are beginning to look jaded, by removing old flowered stems and leaves. Lift and divide large colonies in spring.
Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation'
allium
Rich, deep purple globes
Actaea simplex Atropurpurea Group
bugbane (syn. Cimicifuga)
A late-flowering perennial for shade
Centaurea 'Jordy'
knapweed
Intense, near-black flowers
Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
sage
Dazzling purple blooms
How to get more flowers
Many flowering plants can be encouraged to produce better and longer-lasting displays with the minimum of effort. A plant produces flowers in order to reproduce and ensure the survival of the species. Once a plant has flowered and fertilisation has...
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Mediterranean gardens can take on various guises from the rustic and rambling to the formal elegance of an Italian courtyard. However, they all have key features in common, including the use of exotic, sometimes tender, drought-tolerant plants in pots and...
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Hardy geraniums, commonly called cranesbills, are the stalwarts of a garden – they grow without fuss and bother, they flower reliably and without the gaudy excess of other garden premadonnas. For this reason, they are often overlooked as things of...
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Deadheading will prevent them setting seed and so use their energy producing a further flush of blooms later on. Plants that respond well to deadheading include annuals such as Ageratum, Alyssum, Antirrhinum, Calendula, Centaurea, Cosmos, Dahlia, foxglove, Californian poppy, sweet...
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Many gardeners who are happy, even gung-ho, with the secateurs when pruning shrubs and climbers are surprisingly reluctant to take the shears to herbaceous perennials. Maybe this is because it just doesn’t seem quite right to be cutting back all...
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Low-growing mat of heavily veined lilac-pink saucers among fine leaves in late-spring and summer for alpine screes and sunny edges
Val Bourne - Garden Writer