Geranium sylvaticum 

'Wood Crane's-bill'

[Ex. Co. Durham, 60 m., England]

Geraniaceae: A very showy and beautiful perennial to 60cm. found in damp upland meadows and open woodlands, usually on base-rich soils. The flowers are 2-3cm across with 5 reddish-purple petals, blooming from June-August. The fruits ending in a long beak. The leaves are deeply divided. Absent from much of Southern England but locally common in Northern England and Scotland. Native to most Europe, including Britain from the Arctic to Spain east to the Caucasus and Siberia.

USES:

A blue dye is obtained from the flowers.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Succeeds in any moderately fertile retentive soil in sun or shade. Plants can be naturalised in meadows and often self-sows freely when happy. Sow seeds in Autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.

NOTE: these seeds need a long cold spell to trigger them into germination.

HARVESTED: 2022*

APPROX. 50+ SEEDS