Geranium 'Biokovo'

Geranium 'Biokovo': Croatian Mountain Find Turned Garden Star

'Biokovo' is the ground cover that does everything and asks for nothing. Pale blush-white flowers, scented leaves and fall colour like somebody set the border on low simmer. THE RABBITS SNIFF IT AND FILE A COMPLAINT.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Geranium × cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'
• Common Name: Cranesbill, Hardy Geranium
• Height: 15–25 cm (6–10 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: White with a pink flush at the base and pink stamens, about 2 cm (0.75 in) across
• Bloom Time: Late spring to midsummer (May to July), with a few later flowers
• Foliage: Aromatic, lobed green leaves that turn red to coppery orange in fall. Nearly evergreen.
• Features: Rabbit resistant, 2015 Perennial Plant of the Year®

Where to Plant: Use it to edge paths and beds, spill over walls, fill a rock garden, or carpet open ground, where it spreads by rhizomes into a tidy patch without being a bully. It handles dry, light shade too, and the semi-evergreen leaves keep the bed looking finished into early winter.

Companion Plants: Use 'Biokovo' as a low, scented carpet at the front of a sunny or part-shade bed with taller colour behind. Lupinus 'Gallery Yellow' adds creamy yellow spikes at 45 to 60 cm in June and July. Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' brings raspberry-red bee balm at 90 to 120 cm in July and August. Phlox Luminary® 'Ultraviolet' adds dark magenta-violet heads at 81 to 91 cm in July and August. Miscanthus × giganteus makes a towering green screen at the back, 250 to 350 cm tall.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in average, well-drained soil. In a hot spot, afternoon shade helps. It tolerates dry light shade but flowers less in deep shade. Water through the first season, then only in long dry spells. Shear lightly after flowering to tidy it and encourage a few more blooms. Divide in spring or fall if you want more plants or need to keep it in bounds. It's not invasive, just generous.

History: 'Biokovo' was found growing wild in the Biokovo Mountains on Croatia's Dalmatian coast, a natural hybrid of Geranium macrorrhizum and Geranium dalmaticum, a cross first made deliberately at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. The Perennial Plant Association named it Perennial Plant of the Year® for 2015.

Final Thoughts: Plant a sweep of it and cancel the hose on your calendar. It's busy covering for you. THE INTERN WHO DESERVES A RAISE.