Geraniums

Grandma's Garden Revisited
by Patty Bretin, horticulturist

Geraniums remind me of my grandmother. Plants lined up on basement windowsills decorate my memories. The choice plants, deserving of a spot in the kitchen, were the scented leaved varieties and those with variegated markings on the leaves. These memories are a long way from the vast selection of geraniums that today's greenhouse growers find before them. Today's varieties reveal the depth of thousands of heritage varieties and the breadth of many varieties redeveloped by modern breeding techniques.

Geraniums with fancy markings on the leaves are referred to as Brocades.  Geranium Occold Shield has three distinct colors on the leaves. 

This article highlights numerous geraniums, including brocades, the Galleria series and alpine geraniums, Pillars and others.  Most are available for purchase at bretins.com.

Foliage Plants

Grasses add high style
by Patty Bretin, horticulturist

Ornamental Grasses are valued for the texture and dramatic interest they lend to mixed plantings. An additional bonus is their long season, with color and style well into autumn, even in Calgary's brisk climate. Grasses are easy to grow, many are drought tolerant, requiring as little as 3 to 5 hours of sun daily. Bretin's designers use a wide variety of grasses in the expected color of green.

The real fun starts with grasses that come in bronze or red,  variegations of yellow or white, or perhaps shades of blue and silver.  Carex bucchanni (New Zealand Sedge) has an interesting copper-bronze color.

This article highlights numerous grasses, including Carex, Pennisetum, and others.  Many are used in Bretin's ready made planters and may also be available as single pots for purchase at bretins.com.