Fish Geranium

Zonal Geranium
Pelargonium x hortorum 'Venus'
(pe-lar-GO-nee-um) (hor-TOR-um)
Synonyms: Fish Geranium, Horseshoe Geranium

This was a pretty Geranium that I grew last year. Actually it is still going since I dug it up and potted it for the house. I did cut it way back and it is starting to flourish again. Zonal Geraniums are available in a host of named cultivars and colors. I always grow a few Geraniums just for old time sake and the last couple of years I have been very impressed with my kind of random cultivar selections (whatever the nursery had when I was there). Geraniums like loamy, well-drained soil that isn’t allowed to get too dry. They benefit from fertilization and dead-heading the spent blossoms.


This is just what I call a Wild Aster. I am not sure of the species name. In some ways this plant is a pest and others it is one of the most beautiful plants on the Estate. I think I learned to immediately remove it from areas I don’t want it. It seeds heavily and grows rapidly so I don’t even let it get a toehold in beds I don’t want it. On the other hand it fills in large gaps of uncultivated ground and there I gently encourage it. It is wonderful to have a carpet of white in the fall.


The idea was right when I snapped this Heliconia bract. I just didn’t use a enough Depth of Field.