The delightful Pelargonium Ardens

While checking my written work in printed form, rather than on screen, I drank a cup of tea in the cabin in the garden. There were delightful fragrant smells coming through the windows on the breeze, but it was my eyes that were captivated. They had spotted yet again this Pelargonium Ardens, probably my favourite flower of the last few years. I bought this as a tiny plant in a small friendly garden centre some years ago, when we also bought our wisteria. I have managed to propagate a cutting from it, which the saleswoman warned me was quite tricky.

I haven't always managed to get it to flower, as it is reputed to be temperamental. But for the last two years it has been uninhibited, flowering over many months. It does enjoy the conditions in the cabin, which is bright and warm once the sun shines, but stays cool without frost in winter. You can see the next two buds getting ready.

The red colour is so vivid and the black stripes on the petals contrasts so well with the tiny pink/mauve stamens, which you might not be able to notice in this jpeg. I love it.