Geranium macrorrhizum White-Ness

Perennial Geranium macrorrhizum 'White-Ness' is a very refined ground cover plant for dry shade, with immaculate light green foliage throughout the year. It is truly enchanting in the undergrowth when its flowering occurs in early summer, as it raises clusters of pure white small flowers above its foliage. Finer and less prolific than the type species, it has the same downy and rounded foliage, very aromatic and slightly sticky. Irreplaceable in shaded areas, it grows in almost all types of soil, including the roots of trees and shrubs, and withstands the harshest winters. It can also be grown in pots on the terrace.

Also known as Bigroot Geranium, Geranium macrorrhizum is a rhizomatous herbaceous species native to high-altitude undergrowth in southern Europe. The 'White Ness' variety that originates from it has the same characteristics of habit and foliage, but with less exuberant growth. It forms several rosettes of leaves from a creeping rhizome, creating a spreading clump that reaches 30 cm (12in) in height when in flower, and in a few years forms wide carpets of at least 50 cm (20in). In June and July it is covered with small, pure white, open cup-shaped flowers, with prominent yellow stamens. Its foliage is rounded and deeply lobed, downy and sticky, mostly semi-evergreen, light green, sometimes turning red in autumn and during winter. This perennial, with its root as a storage organ, is particularly adapted to dry soils in the undergrowth. It is a particularly interesting species in neglected areas of the garden, as it prevents weeds from growing.

Geranium macrorrhizum is an excellent plant that every enthusiast should have in their garden due to its ease of cultivation in all regions and the invaluable services it provides in suppressing weeds, in both shade and sun. They look beautiful under deciduous trees and shrubs and are indispensable for quickly filling spaces in borders, alongside paths or in the front of beds with elegance. They are also pleasantly fragrant in warm weather, especially when touched. They are perfect for filling around the base of hedges or roses, and are perfectly hardy.