The Pelargonium Garden is situated on a koppie (rocky outcrop) where steep stone paths lead into an elevated collection of Pelargoniums, one of the world’s most well-known garden plants (commonly called scented geraniums). These Pelargoniums will bloom from late winter well into summer in South Africa.
The plants reward close inspection. Brushing past Pelargoniun citronella on a hot summer day releases its citrus scent into the warm air, while the delicately marked, pale pink flowers and bright, frilly green leaves of Pelargonium fruticosum (left) need to be appreciated up close. Pelargonium peltatum, ivy-leafed pelargonium, parent of the trailing geranium hybrids we know so well in our gardens, is here, and so is Pelargonium cucullatum, one of the easiest plants to identify on the Cape Peninsula, with its distinctive lilac flowers and cupped leaves, standing more than three feet tall.
