Geums: experiment with enticing colours I had always considered geums to be bit-part actors in the garden, rather than the megastars, but I am now having a change of heart. New plants are coming in all the time, and a recent one introduced by Rosie Hardy of Hardy's at Chelsea 2010, Geum 'Totally Tangerine," has such presence that I am revising my ideas. It is relatively tall, 90cm (35in) high, and produces tangerine-coloured flowers from April to September - an impressive 22 weeks. It is both sensational and useful. Hard-working and useful could imply boring, but with their palette of white, pink, red, orange and yellow, these easy-to-use plants can really spike up your colour credentials and "lift" the garden. There are fiery oranges (such as G. 'Prinses Juliana" which is 60cm/24in tall) to jostle among the juicy greens of euphorbias, or perhaps a sea of G. 'Mai Tai" (the pale pink flushed apricot flowers 45cm/18in high) with the purples of alliums poking up through them. Or the coppery orange of Geum 'Mandarin" (60cm/24in) coming above a cloud of forget-me-nots. The well known, orange-red 'Mrs J Bradshaw" and less well known but excellent, copper-orange 'Rijnstroom" are examples. The coccineum hybrids are similar to the chiloense hybrids but are slightly shorter. Geum 'Borisii" with its single orange flowers just 30cm (12in) high is a classic, and G. 'Mango Lassi" (a similar height) with its striking mango/apricot/buff apparel twins well with blues. Sue's garden at Frittenden in Kent is on heavy clay. It is a romantic cottage garden full of jostling plants that hang together well. Although it is stuffed full of different plants in the quarter-acre plot, it has the feel and look of a garden to enjoy rather than a collection of plants. Geums are satisfying plants to garden because of their robust nature. They do need some care though, in that they definitely benefit from division, otherwise they become short-lived. Deciding when you should divide is easy: it is when they become "doughnut-like" (as Rosie Hardy puts it). That is, the ring doughnut - bare in the centre with the growth limited to the outside. This may occur within a couple of years, then lifting the clump and taking the vigorously growing plants on the outside and replanting is necessary. If you are wanting to increase your population, basal cuttings taken in early spring is the best way, the majority root easily. Many gardeners like to cover every square inch of soil and geums are excellent weed suppressors. Ideally if your soil is thin, like mine, a good annual mulch of local authority green waste or spent mushroom compost spread in late winter/spring will boost its moisture-retaining properties. Sue Martin was a little concerned that the recent cold winters might affect them, but they have responded well, really flourishing in our recent cooler summers. Geums are good for cutting too, but Sue tends not to as each stem produces lots of buds which come in succession. And there are many new geums coming in all the time - in the United States they have bred the Cocktail Series of which G. 'Mai Tai" is one and is available from Claire Austin Hardy Plants; G. 'Alabama Slammer" has a burgundy purple calyx that opens to a gold with red orange markings; 'Tequila Sunrise" is red flushed, yellow/apricot. Apparently these are longer-lived than the chiloense types and more adaptable but are lower, about a foot high or so. They should all be available here in the UK soon. Geums are exciting to grow and experiment with - their vivacious colours entice you to try new combinations. You will find them promiscuous too and you may even discover a tantalising new hybrid popping up to surprise you.