05 July, 2023
The Gentle Glory of Geraniums
The geranium is one of those plants that sits deeply within the memories of many of us. Their pretty tumbling nature and fluttering flowers are ubiquitous with the English cottage garden. Many of us will have grown up with their paddle-like leaves sunbathing on a windowsill. It is little wonder then that their fresh summer scent takes so many back to carefree childhood memories.
For our co-founder, Vicky, it is this transportive quality that was a key inspiration behind the Geranium and Orange scent.
“The first house my husband and I bought was a quintessential English cottage complete with roses around the door. I was determined to give our new home the little country garden it deserved. It was my first foray into planting, and I gathered up advice in bundles, searching through books at the library and in local second-hand bookshops. A phrase from Margery Fish’s book The Cottage Garden, jumped out at me – “when in doubt, plant a geranium”.
Our next-door neighbour, serendipitously the gardener at the local manor house, was a fountain of knowledge. He initiated me into the green-fingered custom of swapping cuttings, seeds and plants, a common occurrence in any country village before the garden centres offered everything in one place. He was generous enough to gift me several of his geranium plants and our garden developed from there.
I love the idea that, through those geraniums, our first garden was linked to his carefully cared for one and back further to someone else’s, spreading roots out and back into English country gardens long since forgotten.
Now, whenever I use our Geranium and Orange hand cream, I am transported through the gate and up along the path of our first garden together.”
So, whether it is a riot of unruly stems tumbling over sun baked terracotta pots or simply a moment of stillness by a garden window, the scent of geraniums carries all the glory of a nostalgic English summer into our homes.