My Red Geranium Plant

 I have grown to love geraniums.  Growing up my Mother had geraniums growing in her flower beds.
 The geranium flowers  did not smell sweet like the roses or sweet peas that she grew, but  it was their bold colors that catches your eye. I would pick them along with the other flowers.   They were pretty but they did not last long in vases. They were a messy plant.  They would over grow in the flower beds and the plants would have this hole of dead brown leaves,  the beds look terrible. When my Mom would trim them back, they even looked worst.

 One day walking through a garden center about 20 plus years ago, I noticed some beautiful colors that got my attention.  When I walked up to them and took a closer look, I saw that they were GERANIUMS.   They wowed me all over again and made put a smilie on my face.  I thought of my Mom and knew I had to have some.  Over the years of gardening, I know I still do not like growing them in the ground, but in containers.  It seems, in my garden, that they are much happier and easier for me to keep tidy.

 Also, growing them has their challenges.  In my garden I have to battle the caterpillars that just love them too.  They start of so nice in the Spring and soon, my plant just looks like someone took a weed whacker to them. I was pretty much lift with an ugly plant with flowers with holes and half eaten leaves. It  was a task keeping up and trying to find those tiny caterpillars.  They would blend in to the plant so nicely.    Last year I was going to toss this plant out but something stopped me, looking through my garden journal, it was October 2016 that I was going to give up on it.  I'm not sure what, but I told myself that I would give them one more try.

I AM GLAD I DID!

    

A couple of months ago, I transplanted it into a new container, a glazed.  The last container was a terra-cotta  and it loved being in there.  So far  the plant seems to like its new home.  I will need to keep watch very closely.  The plant does not like being in soggy soil and the glazed container  has been known to smother plant roots if watered too much or the wrong kind of soil, what I have experienced.  

So far the leaves are big and beautiful and I do see some buds forming too.  

I know that I will still have to battle the caterpillars, but look at the color.