One of my top wildflowers from my book Wild about Weeds is Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum. I love its lacy leaves dotted with the tiny stars of pink flowers, both lasting pretty much all year. Fantastic in dry shade where it proliferates adding colour where so few other plants can. If Herb Robert weren’t classified as a weed I’m convinced people would pay good money for this plant down the garden centre.
Max size: 40cm high, 40cm wide
Origin: temperate northern hemisphere, North Africa
Life: annual, biennial, occasional short-lived perennial
Our garden is distinctly lacking in Herb Robert, so I took one of the few plants we do have and planted it at the top of a deeply shaded sloping area a couple of years ago. This year I noticed its seeds have jumped the path into the next planting area down exactly as I had hoped they would.
My hope is that Herb Robert will form part of a new plant community in deep shade beneath deciduous trees. In this area I am only planting indigenous wildflow…