When I came to Switzerland I fell in love with the geraniums on the windowsills. They are epitome of Europe, history and tradition for me. In my mind they are warm, inviting and are always red. Although I think they are most beautiful in the old part of town they can be seen everywhere in Berne. Sometimes there are even splats of other colors but predominantly they are red.
I’ve never seen flowerboxes on houses in America. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right places. After seeing them in Switzerland now, when I go back to the States I think the houses somehow look underdressed.
Types of Geraniums
When it comes to geraniums and flowers in general I’m pretty clueless. Similar to cars, if someone asked me what kind of car just drove by, chances are good that I would say ‘Umm, red?’ Or whatever color it was.
I looked up geraniums in the Internet and was overwhelmed by the abundance of information. Where to start? So I didn’t. I’ll just stick to my limited knowledge. I know they come in different colors and are classified as hanging or not. They seem to like sun, water and occasionally fertilizer. They don’t do well in snow or freezing weather.
Still, I liked the idea of looking out the window and seeing flowers so much I wanted some too. Because the windows in our apartment in Berne were part of the roof I couldn’t put them on the sills. So I placed some flowerboxes on the balcony wall and put my red geraniums there.
Geranium Market and Contest in Berne
I believe both the market and the contest have their origins in 1957. The contest is called ‘Berne in Flowers’. Naturally it’s held in Berne and the surrounding districts. It’s all about displaying the most beautiful window and balcony plants.
Like I mentioned in my post ‘How’s the Weather These Days?’ geraniums are never put out before the Cold Sophie. Never. Which is why the market follows the end of the Ice Saints days, the last being the Cold Sophie. I know, I know, confusing. But like the metric system, you get used to it.
The winners of the contest are announced the following year at the geranium market. Not surprisingly the prizes are vouchers and reduced prices at the market. Still, I don’t imagine that people participate because of the prizes but for the love of flowers.
Dangerous Plants
In spite of their beauty and innocence, geraniums can be very dangerous. Just ask my brother-in-law. After parking his car in his rented garage he walked the short distance to his apartment. Along the way the wind somehow dislodged a flowerbox from an upper floor window. It took leave of its windowsill and it started to fly. Unfortunately neither flowerboxes nor geraniums have wings so they headed pretty fast towards the ground. It missed landing on my unsuspecting brother-in-law’s head by inches or centimeters, if you will.
I’m not sure what the moral to that story is. Maybe it’s park your car closer to home? Don’t walk too close to the buildings when it’s windy? Always walk while looking up for falling objects? Who knows it could be a piano next time! Or simply secure your flowerboxes and other objects so they don’t fall on people’s heads.
At any rate, since moving from Berne I’ve noticed where we live now has fewer geraniums on windowsills. It could be that there is more room for other kinds of flowers. But now and then, especially if you look at our house, you can enjoy those bloomin’ geraniums.
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