Simple, lush, gorgeous. This sun-lover attracts bees and beneficial insects, resists deer, takes salty seacoast wind, and looks great with any number of plants. All it asks in return is good drainage and full sun.

I love it with just about any ornamental grass, pink or yellow roses (it attracts the beneficial bugs that eat aphids, which makes them a great companion plant to roses!), Heathers, Hardy Cranesbills, and anything with purple foliage.

I trim individual stems back partway early in the growing season if size needs to be reduced, or remove stems selectively towards the end of the season once trimming stems partway no longer looks graceful. Nepetas get cut back completely in winter once they’ve died down.

You can divide them every few years to control size, but it doesn’t seem necessary for the plants’ health – I’ve never seen them die out in the center as many undivided perennials do.

[print_link]

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is a lovely tumbling plant that gets between 4 and 5’ around, and about 2’ tall. She does go dormant in winter, but does such a thorough job of dying back that there’s no winter ugliness – just a few hard buds under the soil to assure you she’s coming back in spring.

She loves full sun and is somewhat deer-resistant, only getting eaten occasionally. ‘Rozanne’ even tolerates strong seacoast wind without looking shabby.

If you put ‘Rozanne’ in a part shade spot, she’ll still grow and bloom nicely, but she may get a bit leggy and sprawl out more. I like her with ornamental grasses like the Acorus ‘Ogon’/ Golden Sweet Flag grass above, and she also harmonizes nicely with Roses, Rhododendrons, and Heathers.

Learn how to prune Geranium ‘Rozanne’ here (link to video). I gently lift one side of the plant up and trim out some of the longest stems that are flopping on the ground either back to a side shoot or all the way back, making sure my pruning cuts are hidden by the rest of the foliage, and work my way around the base of the plant to even it up. This helps to reduce size or get the plant out of a pathway if needed, because usually the longest stems are the ones sitting on the ground. After you prune, the goal is to have the plant smaller, but not see any visible sign that you pruned it – no cut stems or bare patches.

[print_link]