Saturday, April 30, 2011

GERANIUMS

I have three geraniums, Florence, Phyllis and Blossom.
  
In the spring they take up residence on our porch.  They spend the summer putting out so many flowers that I have to wash down the place with a hose to get rid of their discarded petals.

When the weather gets cold in the late fall I save a section of each one, put it in a small pot with fresh soil, and bring the three inside for the winter.   They sit for months in front of a sunny window waiting for the snow to go away.  Around March they think they are in Italy or, maybe California, and start putting out blooms.

I enjoy my geraniums in the summer when they 
decorate the deck with their bright hats of pink, red and white.

But the indoor blossoms after a long gray winter, although less and smaller, 
are to my soul like water in the desert. 

8 comments:

Linda Sue said...

One of my most favorite plants- love the way they smell and the cheeriness of impossible colour they trow out there! They struggle here- lack of enough sunshine but when mid summer comes they pop out - in your face!

Anonymous said...

Malcolm has just planted some in pots in the garden. Although we have been having excellent weather, I just hope we don't have a sharp frost when we're away!

Carla said...

I love geraniums, but they don't love me. I ended having sneezing fits when I'm around them.
Yours are beautiful! It's great that year after year you are able to propagate from the previous years plant.

TALON said...

How beautiful they are, Leenie. How lovely that they overwinter so well! There's something cheerful about geraniums that I just love. I always have to have some of the hot pink - they just make me smile.

Jill said...

So homely, and cheerful but never boring. At one time I used to winter mine on the windowsills of the classroom where I taught.

Anairam said...

Oh, geraniums are such easy plants - even I have been known to grow them and succeed. Maybe I should plant some again. My gardening phases come in stops and starts, more stops, actually. Do you give your plants names? That is cool!

Butternut Squash said...

My mother put geraniums in the planters every year. The are a familiar comfort to me in her absence.

DayPhoto said...

I love geraniums, they are one of my favorite flowers! I so agree with you.

Linda
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