Geranium rotundifolium | round-leaved cranesbill

Wild geranium for full-sun and free-draining soils

Geranium rotundifolium, round-leaved cranesbill, has uplifting matt green leaves and lots of small pink flowers

I hadn’t noticed round-leaved cranesbill until this autumn when a single plant appeared next to the gate of our chicken area. At first it looked like Herb Robert or Shining Cranesbill and I was about to walk past when something fired in my head that its leaves looked different to both.

Less divided than Herb Robert, lighter than shining cranesbill with a softer matt finish. So perfect did this plant look at first I wondered if it was a garden escape cultivar, an alpine geranium perhaps. But no, it is one of our wild geranium species, Geranium rotundifolium.

• Max size: 40cm high, 40cm wide

• Origin: Europe to Himalayas, northern Africa, Macaronesia islands

• Life: annual

I love that about wildflowers, even when you think you’ve seen them all something totally new appears on your very doorstep. Growing wildflowers is all about keeping our eyes open.

Round-leaved cranesbill can have much…