🌱 Plant Notes4 min read
Written by Tom Huber
Geum — small, generous and long-flowering
Geum is one of those plants I keep coming back to because it flowers for longer than it has any right to, and asks almost nothing in return.
A well-placed geum will open its first flowers in May and, if you are willing to snip the fading stems now and then, will still be producing a handful of blooms in October. In a Suffolk summer that stretches from a cool wet June into a dry September, that kind of steadiness is rare.
The varieties I return to
‘Totally Tangerine’ is the one most people recognise — soft apricot, very long-flowering, well-behaved. ‘Mrs Bradshaw’ is older, brighter red, and a little more relaxed in habit. Both do well in the loamier gardens around Eye and Debenham.
Where it belongs
- At the front of a sunny border, where the flowers can be seen clearly.
- Between clumps of hardy geraniums, which fill the base after the geum's own foliage tires.
- In a mixed cottage planting with roses, salvia and nepeta.
It resents sitting wet in winter, so on heavy clay I raise the crown slightly and mulch generously. Beyond that, it is one of the least demanding perennials I know.
Bon Gardening Thought
“The most useful plants in a garden are often the ones you stop noticing — because they are simply always doing their quiet work.”
Every garden is unique. The ideas shared in The Bon Blog are based on my experience working in Suffolk gardens. Your own garden may behave differently depending on its soil, aspect and local conditions.
Continue exploring
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Most of the gardens I am called to do not need new plants, or a new design, or a new anything. They need to be reminded of themselves.
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🌱 Seasonal Notes
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By early July most Suffolk gardens are running on the edge of dry. The work now is less about pushing plants on, and more about keeping what you have looking well.