True hardy geranium — sometimes called cranesbill for its distinctive beak-shaped seed pods — blankets the garden in soft mounds of color with almost no fuss required.
Native across the Northern Hemisphere, hardy geranium is a genuinely different plant from the popular annual "geraniums" (which are actually Pelargonium), though both share the family name. True hardy geranium spreads gracefully to form an attractive, weed-suppressing groundcover.
Geranium symbolizes friendship, gentility, and true comfort, a meaning that varies somewhat by flower color but generally reflects the plant's warm, unfussy garden presence.
Hardy geranium tolerates full sun to partial shade and average, well-draining soil, asking for very little beyond occasional division every few years to keep clumps vigorous. Shearing plants back after their first flush of bloom often triggers a fresh round of foliage and a second, lighter bloom later in the season.
Some Geranium species have a history of traditional herbal use for their astringent properties, though hardy garden geranium is grown today almost exclusively as an easy-care ornamental groundcover.
