£6.50
Out of stock
When it first opens this reminds me of the simple cotton caps worn by maids in years gone by with frilly edges all gathered together with a band. At first nodding and a fresh lemon in colour the flowers open flatter and fade to a rich buttermilk, looking out with two rows of petals. A good clumping variety.
Discount of 25p per plant for quantities of 3 or overOut of stock
When it first opens Geum ‘Lemon Delight’ reminds me of the simple cotton caps worn by maids in years gone by with frilly edges all gathered together with a band. At first nodding and a fresh lemon in colour the flowers open flatter and fade to a rich buttermilk, looking out with two rows of petals. A good clumping variety.
Geums have long been cultivated, Our native wood avens, Geum urbanum, being a stalwart of medieval herbalists. 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. These roots were used to flavour Ausburg Ale and to make cordials against the plague.
In the garden, wood avens is not grown, 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. The flowering stems rise up from the foliage and bend over with the 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. The leaves are longer and the flowering stems are also longer and more branched with more open, outward-facing flowers. The flowers are flaming red. Hybridisation has produced many cultivars of intermediate habit and colour. Geum coccineum is similar
Geum rivale has been used medicinally for many of the same complaints as Geum urbanum.
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
