Wild Geranium
They're not the plants from the garden center that most of us call “geraniums”...
I stood studying flowers through my binoculars. They were on a vertical cliff on the other side of Crow Creek. Halfway up the bank, pale magenta blossoms of Wild Geranium emerged from a tapestry of mosses and ferns.
Wild Geraniums, native to eastern North America, live mostly in woods. They thrive in filtered sunlight under deciduous trees. They also flourish in the shady bank of Crow Creek.
I treasure Wild Geraniums not only for their beauty, but also for the fact that they belong here. They’ve lived on this land longer than the human species has, and they’re adapted to the local environment, as a working part of the ecosystem. They nourish bumblebees and other native bees. Butterflies and skippers feed on the nectar.
The leaves are host to moth caterpillars, which parent birds feed to their nestlings. Ahh.
The scientific name of Wild Geranium is Geranium maculatum. What most people call “geraniums” (and which are sold in most garden centers) are not true Geraniums but Pelargoniums, which are plants that originated in Asia or Africa. If you are interested in growing Wild Geraniums in your garden, you will find seeds and plants in nurseries that specialize in native species.
We were anonymously gifted a wild geranium from a bird. It is in its third year in the middle of the garden. It's pretty sweet.
I especially liked your line that they belong here.