Plant Overview
Attractive mid-purple flowers with red veins from early to late summer. Forms a good-sized clump without taking over.
Happy in most soils except waterlogged and will grow in sun to full shade.
Attractive to bees.
Height and Spread: 35cm x 45cm
Myth and Legend
Apparently, the Prophet Mohammed, whilst resting beside a stream, decided to wash his shirt in the water. Having done so, he spread his shirt out to dry on a bed of mallows that grew close by and then lay down and slept. As he slept, a miraculous transformation occurred. First the mallows blushed with pleasure at having the opportunity to serve the great man. Then, by the time he awoke, the mallows had all been transformed into cranesbills.
Traditionally, cranesbills offer protection against snakes and serpents. Hence the following country rhyme:
Snakes will not go
Where geraniums grow.
Dreaming of geraniums is meant to be a sign that you need not worry about a recent quarrel, as it meant nothing and will soon be forgotten.
Common name(s): Cranesbill
Photo: Amanda Slater, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
