...(or, more accurately, pelargoniums) are the quintessential English cottage garden plant, and are a sure sign that summer is well on the way.

The clusters of 5-petalled flowers carried on erect stems come in many colours from white through shades of salmon, orange, pink, red, purple and mauve to a dark wine colour, and may be single-coloured or have contrasting throats.

There are several types of geranium, but the four main groups are:

Regal - a bushy plant with rounded or partially toothed leaves, and mainly single flowers

Zonal - an erect, bushy plant with single to double flowers. Leaves are often bicoloured or multi-coloured with zones of dark bronze green or maroon. Zonals are separated into seven groups, including rosebud, cactus-flowered, fancy-leaved and stellar

Ivy-leaved - a trailing plant with single to double flowers, and, as the name suggests, leaves very similar in shape to ivy

Scented-leaved - a shrubby plant with single flowers. Leaves come in many shapes and colours, but each variety has a distinct perfume which is released when the leaves are brushed

All the above are evergreen perennials and frost tender. In summer they can be used as bedding or container plants. Ivy-leaved varieties look good in hanging baskets, and scented leaved plants are ideal for the edge of a border where they may be brushed in passing. In winter they can be kept in a temperate greenhouse (min.7-10°C) or as a houseplant.

Information taken from the RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Plants