Geranium nodosum Tonys Talisman

The Geranium nodosum 'Tony's Talisman', also known as the nodose geranium, is a beautiful selection of purple flowers from this well-known perennial geranium, renowned for its adaptation to shade in dry or moist soil. Its small funnel-shaped flowers, with a rich violet-purple colour, marked with red-purple and a white center, bloom all summer in shade or partial shade, and even in non-burning sunlight in moist soil. It forms a clump of deciduous, finely cut, glossy, bright green foliage. It is valuable in woodland scenes where it self-seeds abundantly.

The perennial Geranium nodosum 'Tony's Talisman' belongs to the Geraniaceae family. It is a cultivar derived from Geranium nodosum, a botanical species native to the Pyrenees, Italy, and Yugoslavia. This herbaceous and deciduous perennial, very hardy, forms a 30-35 cm (12-14in) high carpet and spreads through its stolons up to 40 cm (16in) wide, at minimum. Its growth is quite fast, and the plant is prolific. From late spring to September, purple flowers with open and deep cups, with notched petals and marked with red-purple, bloom. The foliage is finely pubescent on the underside, light green and shiny when young, darker later on, deeply cut. The glabrous stems, 20-50 cm (8-20in) long, are strongly swollen at the nodes. This plant has a horizontal, elongated, fairly thin rootstock and spreads through underground rhizomes.

The Geranium nodosum 'Tony's Talisman' is a highly ornamental perennial, greatly appreciated in shaded areas of the garden, in ordinary, dry, or moist soil. It forms an excellent ground cover, with great resilience, at the base of sunless walls or in soil depleted by trees. This plant is a blessing where few plants are willing to grow. Paired with bright Tiarellas, or the beautiful foliage of Tellima grandiflora, it effectively covers the base of shrubs, along with ferns. In moist soil, add white-flowered Tricyrtis with purple spots.