SERIES 36 | Episode 11
We meet two mad-keen Perth gardeners, Janet Martin and Jenny Brennan, who share a love of pelargoniums.
Both love the range of colours and variety of flowers.
The pelargonium genus includes a lot of different forms, too, from zonal types, ivy-leafed ones, those with perfumed flowers, different leaf colours, the original species, and the plants that people call geraniums that aren’t true geraniums!
Wait – aren’t they the same thing? NO! Janet is very emphatic about this. “Everyone calls pelargoniums geraniums because that’s what people thought they were when they were first brought to Europe from South Africa,” she says.
True Geraniums, also called Cranesbills, are native to Europe: “They are groundcovers and have five equal-sized petals (whereas pelargoniums have two upper petals and three below), geranium flowers are usually flat and come in blues and purples.” Geraniums grow in cool climates, so are not usually grown in Perth’s heat.
Janet said her obsession started with 10 plants 20 years ago and has loved them ever since. “The problem is stopping because you just want to collect them all.”
She was also interested to learn about the people who had bred the different plants.
Janet collects and imports new varieties of this plant from the eastern states and brings them back for Jenny to propagate and grow on to sell. They sell their plants together at markets across WA, spreading their love of Pelargoniums, and unique varieties, across the state.
Janet has a private Facebook page where she gets experts to share their knowledge and information and where people can trade or sell plants. Jenny met Janet through the Geranium and Pelargonium Society of WA; Jenny visited Janet to get some plants and they’ve been friends ever since.
For plants to flower well, Janet says you need to use good potting mix, at least 6 hours of sun a day, and do not overwater.
She points out the different leaf and flower shape of several varieties.
Janet is originally from Scotland and Jenny from Indonesia, but they have formed a perfect partnership over their love of pelargoniums.
Featured Plants ZONAL PELARGONIUMPelargonium zonale cv.SCENTED PELARGONIUMPelargonium cv.IVY-LEAVED PELARGONIUMPelargonium peltatum cv.VARIEGATED IVY-LEAVED PELARGONIUMPelargonium peltatum ‘White Mesh’REGAL PELARGONIUMPelargonium × domesticum cv. Pelargonium ‘Madame Lorraine Brennan’
Filmed on Whadjuk Country | Merriwa, WA
