Geranium pratense Dark Eyes

The Geranium pratense 'Dark Eyes' is a beautiful perennial geranium. It is the first geranium selection with purple foliage and carmine pink flowering. It forms an erect and robust clump of well-cut leaves, dark green tinged with very dark purple. All summer long, it is covered with single flowers in carmine pink with a black center and veined with black. This particularly dark center adds a lot of depth to the flower. It prefers slightly calcareous and not too poor soils and appreciates the sun under which it blooms more than in partial shade, especially if you take care to remove faded flowers as they appear.

The 'Dark Eyes' meadow geranium belongs to the Geraniaceae family, which includes plants well known to gardeners such as Pelargoniums that decorate balconies, or Erodiums in rockeries. But it is the Geranium genus that offers an immense range for very diverse situations in the garden. The meadow geranium is a native plant that can be found in a large part of Eurasia, from France to Siberia. It thrives in sunny limestone meadows and slopes. It is not uncommon to come across it at the edge of country roads, where the verges are only mowed once or twice a year. The plant forms a rather loose clump, with deeply cut leaves, reaching 45 cm (18in) in height and 30 cm (12in) in width. During flowering, between June and September, the stems sometimes rise up to 70 cm (28in).

Like many perennial Geraniums, the Geranium pratense 'Dark Eyes' is robust and undemanding, with a long-lasting flowering that brightens up all borders, with a rather rustic appearance. It simply needs a well-drained, preferably calcareous soil, not too dry in summer. However, once established, it can tolerate periods of dry soil. In mid-summer, you can remove faded inflorescences to encourage a second flush of flowers. Pair it with other plants with a slightly loose and wild appearance, such as columbines or field scabious. Add some verticality with clumps of ornamental garlic like 'Purple Sensation' garlic or foxgloves. Also add some clumps of grasses like Stipa tenuifolia or Calamagrostis acutiflora for their lightness. In partial shade, consider masterworts.