Zonal Geraniums in Assisi

On our trip to Assisi, all of the color and aromas of the flower boxes that covered almost every terrace and street corner surprised me. From bougainvilleas to marigolds, the amounts of colors and species of flowers were endless. I’m assuming that the reason for this explosion of brightly colored flora is due to the summer climate along with the nearness to the Mediterranean Sea. The flowers that stuck out to me the most were the bright red zonal geraniums. We just learned about them in our lecture the day before coming to Assisi, so it was exciting to see them up close. The geranium has two different varieties in the Italian garden, both of which I saw in Assisi, the zonal geranium, with the orbital coloring on it’s leaves, and the ivy geranium, that has a looser umbel and climb the surface it’s growing on, like ivy. The tighter umbel of the zonal geranium is the reason, for me personally, that they stand out against the other flowers that reside in the rest of the Italian garden. Upon further research, geraniums last very well all summer long as long as they are watered and given plenty of sunlight, which is no problem in Italy. They also do very well when combined with other annuals in a container, which creates the beautiful window boxes that lined the streets of Assisi. I really enjoyed all of the bright colors and hope that I can somehow recreate a beautiful flower box in my own home. - BP