Painting by Susan Savad of Three Pots of Geranium on a Windowsill. Prints available see below.
Hi.
Hi.
In a previous blog about bringing the garden into my home I showed a picture of an abstract painting of a garden by Rachel Vollerthun which I've just bought and love. Inspired by this I've been searching on the internet for other flower or garden paintings I might also love. I did find this one today.
I found this lovely painting on Fine Art America where they have many sized prints available for as little as £21. Link below.
One of the reasons I love it is that I've always had geraniums (aka Pelargoniums) on my windowsills in rows of terracotta pots.
They suit my frugal nature - they an be bought for next to nothing, they are very difficult to kill and survive neglect. They flower most of the year. You will need to take off blooms that are dying by gently pulling off the plant.
You can also make loads more for free. In late summer (or most times of year to be honest) use a sharp knife to cut off the top 8 inches of a new stem. Gently pull off all the leaves apart from two or three small ones at the top. Then bury the stem in a pot of John Innes no 2 compost to about half its depth. No need to use rooting hormone.
I usually use a larger terracotta pot (very cheap) about 8 to 10 inches in diameter and put 3 or 4 such cuttings spaced out in the one pot. I then put in a well lit place but out of direct sunlight which is above 10 degrees C. Water one a week, there is no need to overwater as they store water in their stems. Within a month or so they will start growing as they will have rooted.
As they start growing every time a stem gets to about 10 inches tall - cut off the top 2 inches of each stem. This encourages branches to be made and a more well rounded plant with more flowers.
As well as filling your windowsill they make great gifts. They are also a great way to begin to learn gardening - skills learned will be watering, taking cuttings, pinching off tips to encourage branching.
There are loads and loads of varieties to buy. I like allwoods.com where I've bought some before for as little as £3.50 each. They sell traditional geraniums with all colours, ones with variegated leaves and beautifully scented geraniums. Below is a link to their website.
