Description
Geum ‘Beech House Apricot’
Geum ‘Beech House Apricot’ is a fine short clumping variety with flowers in a soft pastel yellow. They come from buds that are shaded in tones of red and Apricot, a colour that they return to as they age. This is the true plant – see our entry for Beech House Apricot (not). This we know as it came to us indirectly from the Peter Hale who originally introduced Beech House Apricot. he discovered it growing in his mother’s garden at Beech House in Edington and it was, at the time, a significant colour break. We are grateful to Angela Whifield for giving us a bit of her plant.
Geum – avens
Geums have long been cultivated, Our native wood avens, Geum urbanum, being a stalwart of medieval herbalists.
It is rare to see wood avens in the garden, but the related water avens, Geum rivale and the South American Geums chiloense and G. coccineum along with their hybrids and cultivars are reliable additions to the border.
Geum rivale forms a dense spreading crown topped with a dome of hairy foliage. From this base, the flowering stems rise up and bend over with drooping bell shaped lemon flowers. Geum rivale ‘Lemon Drops’ is very close to the wild type. In contrast, Geum chiloense forms a less dense crown from a single rootstock. Furthermore, the leaves are longer and the flowering stems are also longer and more branched with more open, outward-facing flowers. These flowers are flaming red. Hybridisation has produced many cultivars of intermediate habit and colour. In fact Geums are extremely promiscuous. Consequently, if you grow more than one type you are sure to get all sorts of hybrids seed themselves in your garden. Geum coccineum is similar to Geum chiloense.
Geum rivale has been used medicinally for many of the same complaints as Geum urbanum.
Naming
The name of the Genus ‘Geum’ derives from the Greek ‘geno’ = to yield a pleasant odour or alternatively from the Greek ‘geyo’= to stimulate. This refers to the pleasant clove-like aroma that comes from the freshly dug up roots of wood avens. As a result of this, roots were used to flavour Ausburg Ale and to make cordials against the plague.
Geum rivale – Water avens, Drooping Avens, Cure All, Water Flower, Indian Chocolate. The latter 3 of these names are all of North American origin.
Geum coccineum – Scarlet Avens,
Geum chiloense = Geum quellyon
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