In my last entry I mentioned the ashes falling on the leaves of my plants. The plants that are, unfortunately, most affected by the ash, are my Peppermint-Scented Geranium or Pelargonium tomentosum. You can see from the photo above that they grow in a big mass and love to flop over my flagstone walkway. They do well in the dappled sun and light shade that I have in that area.
I love their big fuzzy leaves and their very distinct peppermint scent. They are from South Africa, so they will only do well in climates that don't get below 25-30 degrees. In our climate they thrive year round with small sprays of white flowers in the spring. I suppose you can use their leaves in potpourri or even in cooking. But I just enjoy the look of them in my garden. Except, of course, right now when they are magnets for the ash. The fuzziness of their leaves makes it nearly impossible to brush or wash off all the ash. We’re going to need some serious rain to get my garden and my Pelargonium tomentosums clean again.
