Wild Geranium

Slow Down

Slow down. Take in all that surrounds you. There is so much out there for you to see, if only you would look. Really look. It’s there waiting for you.

Popping up with their bright pink petals on trail edges. Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), an herbaceous perennial native to eastern North America.

Before they send up their buds Wild Geranium looks like this. The leaves are palmate with five sizable lobes. The leaves also have smaller lobes and jagged edges. This is what you need to watch for if you want to find Wild Geranium before the blossoms.

Pollinators of Wild Geraniums are many types of bees, including honey bees, bumblebees, and mason bees, flies such as syrphid flies, and butterflies and skippers.

Normally I see small groups of these flowers blooming their hearts out sending good vibes. This must be a particularly content bunch of Wild Geranium bundled together at the edge of a trail.

So many blooms. So many different species of flowers and trees celebrating spring. All calling to me to join in the revelry.

Green and Gold

A super ground cover that is holding up my back hill, keeping it from washing away. And such a splendid glowing yellow. Bright colors tend to win my heart. Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) is a perennial herb with opposite, oval, hairy leaves, blooming from early spring into late autumn though its peak bloom is in May. I can count on finding blooms most any time with the exception of winter.

Native to woodland areas from Pennsylvania to the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana.

Bees and butterflies, such as this Clouded/Orange Sulphur, get the pollinating done. Songbirds are attracted to the seeds that develop.

Wild Geraniums with their blushing pink decided to plunk themselves down in front of the Green and Gold plants on the back hill. I’m so glad it volunteered. A charming color combination.