NATIVE PLANT GERANIUM MACULATUM

I have not covered all of Connecticut's invasive plants yet, even so I think it may be time to change the focus to some native plants; plants we can keep an eye out for and possibly help to protect by removing encroaching invasives. 

There are so many beautiful native plants it is a bit difficult to find a starting place! I think the best method for making that decision is to follow the months of the calendar, so I will start with some of the first flowers we are likely to encounter when the spring season is once again upon us. Writing about these plants will also help me keep the grueling winter months that lie ahead in perspective.  Keep in mind it is not legal to remove these plants or their seeds from the wild without a permit. Here is a link that explains why. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethics/index.shtml .  

It is still entirely possible to grow native plants though, as there are nurseries that have procured these plants legally.  They propagate them and offer them for sale.  Here is a link that includes a list of native plants and suppliers.  This 2025 list was compiled by UCONN.  2025 Connecticut Native Tree, Shrub, and Perennial Availability List

The first plant that comes to my mind is wild geranium or Geranium maculatum.  It is a very ornamental native perennial plant that grows prolifically all over our town during the first spring months and even into early summer.  It is a plant so attractive that you would think had been cultivated, and there are slightly fancier cultivars of it, but in its unadulterated form it is a native plant. It is native not only to Connecticut but also to many states in eastern North America.  Here in Scotland, it is often found adorning woodland edges where there is rich humus type soil, and shade or dappled sunlight.  Wild geranium is a low growing plant with deeply divided leaves. When in bloom it is covered in pink flowers, followed of course by abundant seed pods.  Though left to its own devices, the plant often frequents semi-shaded spots it will also tolerate a location that receives full sun so long as the soil remains moist.  The flowers are host to a multitude of bee and beetle pollinators. These insects in turn provide food for mourning doves, robins, juncos, and even quail.  Deer will occasionally browse the foliage, and chipmunks have been known to fill their cheeks with the seeds. So, this pretty little native plant feeds a good size crowd!

Wild geranium behaves well in a garden.  It spreads, though gradually, via its rhizomes.  Of course, it also spreads by seed.  The seeds are contained within a sharp beak shaped pod.  The seed pods give the plant another of its common names crane's bill geranium.  The cleverly designed seedpod has the capability of catapulting the ripened seed a good distance eventually creating another stand of the plant.