A replacement plant

Last year I pulled this variegated Geranium macrorrhizum out of its location along the main path through the Sacred Grove where most of my special flowering plants live. It tends to flop and the leaves require a lot of pruning to keep the plant looking its best. But since it is very hardy and not bothered by pests, I decided to save it. However I put it in a less obvious location because its creamy variegation does bring light into a deeply shady area. 

I gave Astrantia major 'Vanilla Gorilla' the starring location and it has proved worthy of my trust. True, it also gets some leaf browning but not nearly as much as the Geranium. It has a more attractive leaf color, grows in a more dense clump and made it thought its first winter which was one for the books. Last September, I was wondering if I made the right choice. This fall, I know I did.

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

All of my geraniums do this leaf discoloring/drying up look. I mainly ignore it. I do like the Astrantia. I am not very familiar with this plant.

[Peter/Outlaw]

Your Gorilla gardening certainly paid off; the replacement is gorgeous.

[Kris P]

A variegated Astrantia! I'm envious.

[Nell]

That's so remarkable: to find a plant that has pretty much the exact same size and effect, only more so -- and then to have it prove tougher than the one it replaced. Well done!

This week, I'm propagating two of my three precious G. maculatum 'Hazel Gallagher'. Their blooms are clean white, with no trace of pink or mauve, and the foliage is both fuller and deeper green than the species of other white-flowering selections. I'd love to have a great spread of them under the beech, but half the seedlings so far have been pale pinky-mauve. They're crosses with G. maculatum 'Cobblewood Ghost' (whose flowers had a suspect tinge in their first and only bloom season; the ghost melted away completely that summer).