Geranium dalmaticum Bressingham Pink

The perennial Geranium dalmaticum 'Bressingham Pink', a type of Cranesbill, is a small rhizomatous plant that forms a low, slowly spreading carpet, eventually forming large cushions. This cultivar is particularly floriferous, covering itself with a pink cloud of small pearly flowers like seashells throughout the summer. Its foliage is also interesting, consisting of small, fragrant, dark green and shiny leaves that display beautiful autumn colours. Ideal for sunny rockeries and along pathways, it is durable and charming ground cover, perfectly hardy.

Geranium dalmaticum 'Bressingham Pink' belongs to the Geraniaceae family. This variety is a more floriferous selection with a slightly deeper pink colour than Geranium dalmaticum. The latter is native to the Balkan coasts, Montenegro, and Albania. This plant has a low, carpeting growth habit, reaching a height of 15 cm (6in) and spreading at least 20 cm (8in). It blooms from June to August. The flowers, measuring 2.5 to 3 cm (1in) in diameter, appear in clusters or umbels, with a rich, pearly pink colour, carried on long stalks well above the foliage. The flower has a cup shape, and the anthers are red. The creeping stems bear small, often evergreen leaves (4 cm (2in) in diameter), which are fragrant, round and lobed, of a glossy dark green colour that turns to stunning reddish-orange hues in autumn.

Bressingham Pink Dalmatian Cranesbill is primarily a rockery plant. It will quickly fill in cracks in paving or old and low walls, and fill gaps within and along the edges of rockeries. It also thrives in a wild garden, alongside Phlox subulata 'Emerald Cushion' or Saponaria ocymoides. Its fragrance can be enjoyed and admired when grown in a pot, paired with Campanula porscharskyana 'Stella' and Cerastium tomentosum, in a light and well-drained substrate, in e.g. hanging baskets where it will cascade in delicate and luminous drapes.