Geranium or Pelargonium?

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Geraniums originated from South Africa, as well as Reunion, Madagascar, Egypt and Morocco and were introduced to European countries such as Italy, Spain and France in the 17th century. 

Actually, the plants that gardeners have grown under the geranium name for several hundred years is not a geranium, but a pelargonium. Both plants, as well as a few others, are all members of the geraniaceae family. 

The problem arose when the plants were first brought from their native home of South Africa into Europe. All the early imports were labeled “geraniums” and continued under that blanket name for many years. When some observant botanists finally started a closer examination of these lovely new plants, they discovered many differences and then decided that the imports were not all the same plant type, but there were differences so were then moved into different named classifications. 

One group of plants was given the original name of geraniums. A second group was classified as pelargoniums, then there were erodiums and sarcocaulons/monsonias. The plant we label “geranium” was put into the pelargonium category, however, it had become a well loved plant of gardeners in Europe under the old “geranium” label so although the botanists told them that the lovely pot or bedding plant they grew in such numbers was a pelargonium, they persisted in using the old name. 

I’m now more confused than ever! 

(Find out more at The Geranium Society)

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Herbs - inside or out?

W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm watercolour paper 12″ × 8″


Herbs on a shelf on my patio

 

Herbs can be grown indoors and out so the choice of where to plant them is a personal choice. Many people prefer to grow their herbs in their kitchen where they can be easily accessed during cooking. I’m not much of a cook, but there’s nothing more inspirational than seeing some Sage or Parsley on your kitchen windowsill, it often sparks an idea of what to cook for me.

You can buy herbs as seedlings at any nursery or garden centre, or you can choose to start your plants from seeds.

If you are starting from seeds, just about any small container will do. If I’m going to be panting the herbs outside at a later stage, I normally start them off in egg shells filled with a bit of potting soil, put in my seeds and when they’re big enough, plant them outside shell and all.

I have quite a collection of various sizes of Terracotta pots, and the small ones are ideal for sowing some seeds for a kitchen window sill. This way you always have fresh herbs at hand and it also makes a nice display.

Some of my favourites are Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Basil, Chives, Garlic and Mint.

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Plants in Terracotta pots

'We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.'

— Lao Tzu

I just love terracotta pots; love planting in them, love sketching them and just love collecting them!

This Angelwing Begonia seedling standing on my bathroom window sill looked so brave, proudly displaying its three new leaves, I just had to capture it. I started this plant from a cutting, one leaf, from another Begonia plant.

A Geranium I had on my window sill before trans-planting him into the garden. (Why do I think of it as a “him”? Maybe because he’s such a robust fellow…) It was just starting to flower, the tiny buds soon to be the well-known red geranium flowers.

Bunny Ears cacti originated in the wild (North and Central Mexico) and are popular garden and house plants here in South Africa. I bought my Bunny Ears two summers ago and after a nice rest this past winter, it is now showing lots of new ‘ears’. I’m just wondering if I will have any flowers while it is in a pot…

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A garden path

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

I always seem to be doing the opposite of what I should, like with gardening. In stead of jumping into gardening like everybody else in Spring, every Autumn I get this inexplicable urge to revamp my garden! I think it must be the cooler weather, much easier carting paving stones and pots around when it's not so hot.

I've just bought 10 bags of compost and a couple of bags of potting soil for a few potted plants and will be feeding the garden just as it wants to rest! But I'm sure all my earth worms will be thankful for a bit of extra sustenance during this cold period...

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