A perennial from the Geraniaceae family, the meadow geranium is widely spread across Europe and temperate Asia, from the British Isles to Japan. It colonizes hay meadows, roadsides, grassy banks, and edges, both in plains and mountains, where it can rise up to 2,000 meters.
It forms upright and vigorous clumps, 60 to 90 cm in height, with branched and glandular-hairy stems. The foliage is deeply palmatisect, with narrow and finely cut segments, of a bright green; it often takes on beautiful orange to reddish hues in autumn before disappearing.
The flowers, borne in pairs on long peduncles, are a bright blue-violet, with broad and rounded petals traversed by darker veins, with a white center and stamens with dark, almost black anthers. It is one of the few geraniums to offer such a true and pure blue among large-flowered species.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August. In cultivation, a severe pruning after the first bloom can induce a resurgence in September.
It thrives in full sun in ordinary, fresh, and well-drained soil. Very hardy and easy, it has given rise to many cultivars, with colors ranging from pure white to dark violet, including double-flowered forms highly appreciated in gardens.