Pelargonium and Matisse ,brother gardener and Van Gogh

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Botanical garden in Leiden was the first garden in Europe to grow geraniums.Later the name pelargonium was introduced,after Greek name for stork-this plant forms stork-like seed heads. Most of home grown pelargoniums today are cultivars ,in many colors, shapes and with interesting fragrances possible ,developed in more as 400 years since the plant arrived in Europe, spreading from botanical gardens to gardens and homes, I guess even to artists studios,capturing attention of the greatest masters.What a view into history of art do these painted geraniums bring together with the eternal smell of hot summers,blue shades,some fragrant broken geranium leaves and memory of a boy to become a gardener …………………….. 

Artist	Henri Matisse
	from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_Life_with_Geraniums

Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale with a Geranium, 1801, from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt_Peale

Artist: Vincent van Gogh

from:http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/vincent-van-gogh/geranium-in-a-flowerpot-1886

Geraniums
P. graveolens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Angiospermae
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Geraniales
Family:	Geraniaceae
Genus:	Pelargonium L’Hér.
Species
About 200: Pelargonium asperum Pelargonium capitatum (L.) L’Hér. ex Aiton Pelargonium cotyledonis Pelargonium cucullatum Pelargonium drummondii Pelargonium graveolens Pelargonium grossularioides Pelargonium insularis Pelargonium littorale Pelargonium peltatum Pelargonium quercifolium(L. f.) L’Hér. ex Aiton Pelargonium radens Pelargonium rodneyanum Pelargonium scabrum Pelargonium sidoides Pelargonium triste Pelargonium vitifolium Pelargonium ×domesticum L.H. Bailey (pro sp.) Pelargonium ×hortorum L.H. Bailey (pro sp.) Pelargonium ×nervosum Sweet et al. from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelargonium