Tyrolean Beauty
I have visited a lot of European countries during the last 2-3 years, but none have impressed me as much as Austria for its beauty, its clean and exquisite look, its precise people and services and to complete all these, its passion for beauty and not any kind of beauty but organized, trimmed, clean, precise, sharp beauty.
Some travelers may prefer the wild side of beauty. One of my friends told me she didn’t like Austria especially because everything was too sharp, too precise, but for me the organized look turned a country I visited into my favorite vacation destination.
And one of the beauties I admired in Austria was the Tyrolean pelargonium or geranium. Very few houses in Austria, the city of Vienna included, had no flowers at all at the windows. I have never seen so many flowers though as in Tirol – Innsbruck, Wattens, Tulfes. Even the local Fire Fighting Department had flowers in flower pots outside all windows. It is an amazing and inspiring view since the mountains are nearby. The fresh geraniums that are in bloom almost all year long create a great view close to the snow on the mountain tops.
Waking up in the morning as early as possible allows you to see the mountain area in its entire splendor. The fog covers the pine trees, the mountains seem so close to the window almost reachable by hand and the Tyrolean beauties in each balcony convince visitors to stay for at least one day longer in the area.
Colors of the Tyrolean geraniums range from white to red, pink, violet and anything in between and the blossoms can be admired from spring to late autumn. The look has become an emblem of the region making plant growing and selling companies all over Europe to include them in their spring catalogs. I have included them on my spring garden shopping list for this year too.
Tyrolean beauties are not difficult to grow; they are strong, robust flowers that don’t need too much attention, just some fertilizer from time to time to enhance their natural look. The colors can be combined in pots creating a special design.
I strongly recommend visiting Austria, especially the mountain areas close to Innsbruck. They are great in winter for winter sports, but even more than that the area is special in summer when the fresh atmosphere can turn you into a Tyrolean “addict”. Tyrolean beauties complete the picture and the area wouldn’t be the same without them.