Geranium nodosum

The knotweed geranium, in Latin Geranium nodosum, is a perennial geranium that loves shade, where it forms a beautiful ground cover despite the competition from the roots of tall trees. It is a very cold-resistant plant, up to -20°C (-4°F), very different from the "king of balconies" commonly called geranium (Pelargonium spp.). The knotweed geranium is grown in the ground in the garden. The typical species, with pinkish-violet flowers, is native to mountain undergrowth, from Spain to Montenegro via France. We find this beautiful wild plant in our mountains of Massif-Central, Cévennes, Corbières, Pyrenees, Alps, and also in Corsica. It has given rise to beautiful cultivars and hybrids with flowers ranging from white to more or less purplish pink, passing through various shades of blue, mauve, and violet. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous plant, deciduous, which grows in clumps and spreads by means of stolons. Its swollen stems above the nodes have earned it the name knotweed geranium. Its glossy leaves, ranging from a beautiful light green to bright green, show 3 to 5 slightly toothed lobes. Not exceeding 50cm (20in) in height, it is perfect for flowering and greening dry to wet shady areas, often neglected by other plants.