In recent culture, we’ve had Hot Girl Summer, Hot Vax Summer, and now I give you Hot Geranium Summer.
Catchy, right?
No?
Well, I admit it could use a little finessing. I’ll work on.
It has been the summer of the geranium on my front porch, though. There are geraniums as far as the porch is long.
How many geraniums are too many geraniums for one house?
Is it five?
I hope it’s not five because I now have five planters filled with geraniums. I’m not talking about a cute little planter you can fit in your windowsill. I’m talking about the type of planter that is so big it requires your husband to move it, and he can only do it because he’s been weightlifting and he still swears he will never do that again…until the next time I need it moved, and the cycle repeats itself.
In addition to the large planters, I don’t have just one geranium plant in each planter.
Oh, no, no, no. Have you met us? This is a go big or go home household.
When I propagated my two giant geraniums this spring, which is the first time I’ve significantly trimmed those beasts back, I put multiple cuttings into each of three new, slightly smaller planters.
It was an insurance policy since I figured most of the cuttings would not take.
So, how do I say this next part delicately?
I was wrong.
Almost all of the geraniums took.
I suppose I’m a geranium farmer now. An accidental geranium farmer. My introduction to geraniums started three years ago with one Mother’s Day gift of a geranium plant, and now it’s Hot Geranium Summer. It’s a good thing my kids didn’t give me a puppy.
What’s my secret to growing geraniums?
It’s a little thing I like to call dumb luck.
I just so happened to notice that the geraniums seemed to appreciate living on our covered, south-facing front porch. What’s not to love about that?
Conveniently, I also happen to have a south-facing sunporch where the geraniums can overwinter.
By overwinter, I don’t mean I trim them back and let them go dormant for the winter as a proper geranium farmer would do. Nothing proper is happening here.
I treat the geraniums like a houseplant in the winter, and lo and behold, they will give me bright blooms all winter long! So, my secret is, I water them and let them be.
The geraniums bring me so much joy, particularly in the winter, that I’ve given them a name.
Instead of geraniums, I call them joyraniums.
That’s a much better name than geranium, don’t you think? I’m sure the name will catch on in no time.
As you may have noticed, I like to lean into a theme, so it’s not that surprising that I found geranium-themed, outdoor pillow covers to sit on our front porch rocking chairs.
And, much to my delight, there is still plenty of time for front porch sitting before I have to bring the geraniums inside for the winter. In fact, September and October might be the best time for front porch sitting because it no longer feels like we’re living in Satan’s steam sauna.
The geraniums split their time evenly between inside and outside, and their care doesn’t vary much based on time of year.
It’s really a great geranium life.
They do well outside in our planting zone (6b-7a) from May to October, give or take a couple of weeks, depending on the nighttime low temperature. They spend the winter inside from November to April.
Now that I think about it, I’m similar to the geraniums in that I, too, only want to be outside from May until October, and then I’ll gladly hibernate the rest of the year.
I drink more water than the geraniums, though. They like to be a little dry, so if you routinely subject your plants to a little benign neglect, geraniums might like that kind of tough love.
In the winter, I water them once a week along with the other houseplants and give them occasional plant food.
In the summer, I play it by ear to see how dry they get, as they might need more water in July than in late September. Mine absolutely don’t need watering every day in the summer, unlike other drama queen plants like the petunias and verbena. You’re one hour late watering those flowers, and they act as if you’ve never watered them at all.
I’m not entirely sure where this joyranium journey will take me, but nothing lasts forever, so I’m happy to enjoy this season of life while it lasts.
What type of plants do you love growing? Are you as into geraniums as I am? You can comment here on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via direct message on Instagram or Facebook. Comments are like a colorful flower. They brighten my day.
Front Porch Decorating Sources
Planters – thrifted
Geranium Pillow Cover (linking the 20×20)
Outdoor Pillow Insert (comes in multiple sizes)
Blue pillows – thrifted
*affiliate links in this blog post*
While we weren’t exactly front porch sitting, I’m glad you shared a few minutes of your day with me. If you’d like another blog post to read before you go, try one of these.
A Haint Blue Porch Ceiling of My Own
Overwintering Plants Set Up On Our Sunporch