Hardy geraniums

Thin stems carrying saucer-shaped flowers in shades of white, pink, blue or purple, sometimes attractively veined with darker colours Most geraniums make mounds of soft, mid-green foliage Foliage often flushes with autumn colour before dying back by winter, remerging in spring A few like G. malviflorum flower in spring and then are summer dormant, while others likeG. cinereum 'Ballerina' are greyish-leaved and small enough for rock gardens or gravel beds

Most hardy geraniums make good underplanting in sunny shrub, rose and herbaceous borders Some species like G. macrorrhizum and its cultivars are great groundcover in shaded spots under trees A further group of more diminuitive geraniums like G. cinereum cultivars and G. dalmaticum suit sunny rock gardens with sharp drainage or containers

Hardy geraniums dislike permanently wet soils that can lead to root rotting Hot summer sun may cause soft leaves to wilt and shorten the flowering season

Many of the geraniums suited to border planting can be chopped back hard after flowering. They'll then produce a fresh head of foliage and often more flowers Pelargoniums, sometimes informally called geraniums, are popular for summer bedding displays