Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Dovefoot Geranium
Thus far in of our ramblings around the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia we have considered and displayed two members of the Geranium (Geraniaceae) flower family, Carolina Cranes-bill and Wild Geranium, both of which are delicate, native wildflowers.
In 2008 I came across this Dovefoot variety, a miniature Geranium, which, as the saying goes, "ain't from around here."
Although equally delicate,—the scientific suffix, molle, is botanical Latin for "soft or flexible" and well describes its fragile, prostrate stems—it has flourished in its new home.
Inadvertently imported with other plant material, this European Geranium has found its North American niche as a common lawn weed.
I found this colony not off in the forest, which is where I found its native cousins, but in my backyard.
(This is appropriate as it echoes back to my first finds five years ago. See Welcome to Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery .)
Not aggressive nor particularly invasive, it doesn't displace its native relatives because they require a quite different habitat.
It is perhaps a a minor nuisance to those who prize a pristine lawn in which only grass is found.
But, for me, its miniature blue blossoms are an adornment to my yard and are welcome as gracious new lilies in my field.
What do you think?
Any thoughts, pro or con? Why not drop me an anonymous note at the Comments page?
OR
Go back to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.