I love May! This is when Portland’s gardens turn tropical, with lush green growth everywhere. Things are growing fast–fast enough to surprise me sometimes. For instance, this purple cranesbill geranium popped up from underneath the larger corlyopsis bush that I featured earlier. (That was the one in the front yard with the lime green blossoms in early spring).
This species of geranium is new to me. I’m used to the variety that has big balls of bright blossoms. Actually, those flowers are more properly categorized as pelargoniums, according to the Human Flower Project. Now, don’t get me wrong–I do love pelargoniums, with their hardy flowers that keep blooming all summer long. I nurse several pelargoniums through the winter in pots indoors, and I love how they keep blooming almost all winter long.
However, these “cranesbill gernaiums” as Billy and other gardening geeks call them are pretty charming, what with their delicate flowers that open to sunlight and close during the crepescular hour. I also love their enchanting purple tone. Bonus: apparently they can be cut back mid-season to spur a second round of flowers! We’ll have to experiment with that this year–assuming that the resident landscaping expert, Billy, approves, that is. 
