This week’s perennial is a low growing hardy geranium. It’s nice to find smaller perennials, like the ‘Ballerina’ Cranesbill, because they are perfect for borders, containers, woodland and rock gardens, and for the front plant in a layering design. The ‘Ballerina’ Cranesbill has been a staple in English garden designs.
The botanical name of this hardy geranium is Geranium cinereum ‘Ballerina’, and it has a pretty pink, cup-shaped flower with a deep mauve-y center with that same darker color visible in the veins of the petals.
Photo from Waitrose Garden, an online gardening center in the UK
It was classified (botanically) near the end of the 18th century, and is native to the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain, which no doubt looks amazing when the Ballerina Cranesbill are in bloom. Hardy geranium cranesbills get their name from the shape of their seed pods after the blooms fade.
Discovering information on this perennial makes one realize how important the botanical name of plants really are, because we came across so many common names, and some general names that indicated the plant was part of a larger group of plants. Some common names that we came across were Dwarf Cranesbill and Greyleaf Cranesbill, and another was Ballerina Cranesbill.
Source: Michigan Bulb
Ballerina Cranesbill blooms in late spring to midsummer, and is hardy from Zones 4 – 9. It is categorized as a herbaceous perennial, meaning that it is not evergreen.
The compact Ballerina Cranesbill grows between 6” – 12” in height, 12” – 15” wide, and needs full to partial sun. It is a very low maintenance plant that does well in all soil pH ranges, but a needs moist, well-drained soil.
This next photo, though a bit small, shows the compact scale of the plant when compared to the adjacent brick edge –
Source: Naturehills Nursery
It has grey-green leaves, and can be encouraged to bloom into late summer by clipping it back to half its size after the initial blooming is complete. Probably true with many plants, and more blooming is always a good thing!
Photo from Waitrose Garden, an online gardening center in the UK
We think it would look amazing in a layering design with a taller, darker leaf Coralbell, like Dolce Blackcurrant (Heuchera ‘Dolce Blackcurrant’) as a backdrop.
Besides being easy to care for, it is both rabbit and deer resistant!
This perennial seems so perfect! Do you have the Ballerina Cranesbill growing in your garden?
