Description
Geum ‘Hilltop Beacon’
Geum ‘Hilltop Beacon’ is one of the taller growing Geums, holding its flowers outward facing on tall upright stems. The flowers are large at 3cm with 6 petals with undulating edges in a soft tangerine with pinker, strawberry tones on the reverse. In cooler conditions the flowers can take on shades of burnt orange as well. The calyx is short and the flower centre tones in with yellow stamens and a fuzzy red eye.
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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