Gardening 101: Scented Geranium - Gardenista

Gardening 101: Scented Geranium - Gardenista
Scented Geranium, Pelargonium: “Scented Sentinel”
If I had to list my top favorite things that I love about plants, fragrance would be number one.
If you rub the leaves of P. odoratissimum, you will pick up the fragrance of apples. Native to South Africa, scented geraniums are one group of the Pelargonium family, the others being Ivy-Leaved, Zonal, Martha Washington, Unique, and Angel.
While I appreciate all the varieties, this is one of my favorites: Photograph by Salchuiwt via Flickr.
P. graveolens smells like roses. And don’t worry, scented geraniums are not the result of some biochemical experiment; the leaves were not injected with artificial fragrance.
Photograph by Salchuiwt via Flickr.
Photograph by Salchuiwt via Flickr.
Leaves of scented geranium are mainly medium green but some come with attractive variegated leaves. Leaf shapes also vary from being toothed, to lobed or deeply cut.
P. crispum gives off a lemony scent. Scented geraniums are a bit underused in most landscapes but that should not be the case.
Photograph by Salchuiwt via Flickr.
Scented geranium leaves.
Photograph by Justine Hand.
Varieties of scented geraniums include (clockwise from top L) citronella, skeleton rose, variegated nutmeg, lemon, finger bowl lemon, lemon balm, French lace, rose, lime, citrosa, and apple.
Photograph by Justine Hand.
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