Geranium nodosum Silverwood

The Perennial Bush 'Silverwoods', also known as Perennial Nodose Bush 'Silverwoods' is a good ground cover for dry or wet shade. It offers a long flowering period, from spring to autumn, with white and spreading cups that appear speckled. Its name could be translated as 'silver forest', evoking a fairy-like vision. The overall effect is original and bright, unexpected in woodland scenes, welcome in dry or moist soil, between patches of shade and light.

The Perennial Nodose Bush 'Silverwoods' belongs to the Geraniaceae family. It is a cultivar derived from Geranium nodosum, native to the Pyrenees, Italy, and Yugoslavia. This herbaceous and deciduous perennial, very hardy, forms a 30 cm (12in) high carpet, and spreads through its runners to a minimum width of 40 cm (16in). Its growth is quite fast, however, this very beautiful but still rare form develops more slowly than the species. It blooms from late spring to September, with open white flowers, with petals marked by a notch, as if covered and veined with a silver glaze. The foliage is finely pubescent on the underside, light green and shiny when young, darker later on, deeply cut. The glabrous stems, 20-50 cm (8-20in) long, are strongly swollen at the nodes. This plant with a elongated horizontal stump, quite thin, spreads through underground rhizomes.

This perennial geranium appreciates all shades of the garden, in ordinary, dry or wet soil. The geranium nodosum 'Silverwoods' is an excellent ground cover, with great robustness. It will quickly add a colorful touch to exhausted soil under trees, bushes, along facades or north or east-facing paths, at the base of sunless walls. It will effectively mask the base of shade-loving shrubs such as Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen', along with Tiarella cordifolia with its spike of white flowers. This plant is a blessing where few plants are willing to grow, like Symphytum caucasicum and the large periwinkle.