The South African plants we usually call geraniums -- with their coral or white blossoms that cheer our home in the cold months and enjoy summer camp outside during the warm season -- are actually pelargoniums, a member of the geranium family. Their cousins, the true geraniums include Geranium maculatum (above x2), a New England native that grows along the forest edge in the wild near Goomp's Down East.
Along Maine ditches, row on row, the native Wild Geraniums grow. Then along came sister-in-law Ellen -- years and years ago -- with a trowel in her hand and a gleam in her eye. She dug up clumps of these exquisite beauties from the roadside near Goomp's for all our home gardens. They thrive year after year in our own Chelsea border (above, set off by the brilliant yellow of lovely volunteer Celandine, Celidonium majus) along the base of the giant retaining wall at the back of the site. A moisture lover, Geranium maculatum enjoys the rainwater naturally drawn by the dry-well effect of the wall. The recent Flood of 2006 has been a godsend. A mild winter didn't hurt, either.
An instant classic just out, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest (open above to "Cranesbills and Valerian," with Wild Geranium pictured in upper left of right page) will be a welcome photographic companion to the gold-standard Newcomb's Wildflower Guide.
Through the years we've always looked to Newcomb's Wildflower Guide -- illustrated with precise line drawings, a handful in color -- for weed/wildflower identification, but a shiny new contender has just burst upon the scene. Our copy arrived from Amazon this very morning: Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A field guide to the Northeastern United States by Steven Clemants and Carol Gracie. The Wall Street Journal calls it one of the "Five Best" books of the year on horticulture:
In addition to being the most comprehensive [nonsense, of course, as Newcomb's still rules in our book] field guide for the northeastern U.S. and Canada, this is an eminently practical book of advice on the cultivation of native plants, both for gardens and for the benefit of wildlife. Discussing nearly 1,500 species of native and naturalized wildflowers, the book offers photos, maps and text conveniently positioned on facing pages, along with brief, easy-to-follow plant descriptions. The authors, both scientists, bring a thoroughgoing expertise to their love of native habitats, providing a perspective that dedicated gardeners should relish.
A great just-because gift now that Mother's Day is past.
For those of both sexes who are domestically inclined, gardening is an interesting and satisfying pastime. Having sources of knowledge about the nature of what one is working with and of the possiblity of new additions makes it all the more satisfying. It is most helpful that you have shown how these books can add even more interest to the gardener's efforts.
Posted by: goomp | May 18, 2006 at 05:28 PM
I'll have to look up those books. The house we have now has LOTS of plants. The former owners were avid gardeners. I know only a limited amount (like what a dandelion looks like) so I'm probably not pulling some stuff that are weeds.
Plus we have some ornamental trees that I don't know the name of - but are beautiful. And several big green bushy things that seem to have parts dying off or at least have rust color patches on them.
Poor plants they probably don't know what hit them - their gardener parents are gone. *grin*
Posted by: Teresa | May 18, 2006 at 10:36 PM