Vancouver Centennial

I have to admit to having a bit of a thing for pelargoniums, commonly known as geraniums, even though they are unfashionable. It started when I was very young on visits to my grandparents' terraced house in Devonport. At the back, behind my grandfather's photographic darkroom (the old larder), they had a greenhouse which was dominated by a large and very old grapevine. On the staging underneath the grapevine lived the pelargoniums. There were dozens of them, all labelled, in terracotta pots set out in neat rows. Colour, touch, smell. I was allowed to deadhead and water them and later was shown how to take cuttings. I now have my own collection of nearly 60 plants - zonal, ivy-leafed, scented-leaf, decorative,  fancy-leaf, regal and stellar. When my grandfather passed away my father took cuttings from many of those pelargoniums. In turn I've taken my own cuttings from those and so, in essence, these are the same plants that I knew as a child. All still grown in terracotta pots. There are a few new additions. Vancouver Centennial is one of my favourites, a stellar variety with maple-shaped  smooth bronze and green foliage. 

You can probably guess that its wild wet and windy outside today. Time to do some  geranium care.