No flower or meadow garden worthy of the name should be without the Cranesbill, now that the freshness of May is past and the tulips and lilacs are almost all over . . .although Tulipa sprengeri, a naturaliser when happy, actually flowers in June.

The temptation is to look for our next big thrills among the divinely scented old roses, the cartoonishly large Oriental poppies (unlike the commonest scarlet-orange kind which is almost over now, most named varieties of Papaver orientalis have yet to flower fully), and among the peonies, honeysuckles, delphiniums, geums, tall irises and alliums that all flower in this famously blooming month of June.

These delightful things are big events, bound to be noticed, but it's what happens in between them and the other seasonal stars that makes a garden coherent and really good.

June colour is easy enough for anyone with a modest knowledge of plants, as everything grows so fast in its light and warmth, but it can be a disappointment for the keen novice with only a small stock of plants . . . full of mismatched groupings or empty patches.

This is where the gardener's great ally, the hardy geraniums (a relative of the tender Pelargonium usually known as geranium), come in handy, as one of the best garden fillers and dividers . . . between groups of other plants . . . that I know.

Between the different kinds, they flower for many months of the year. And happily, along with their good companions the old scented roses, they are enjoying a revival.

Once you have started using hardy geraniums, I guarantee you'll never want to be without them in your garden again, and most probably, it will set you off on a hunt to collect as many as you can possibly accommodate.

One of the first to flower, from late April until early June, is Geranium phaeum, the Mourning Widow, so called because of its nodding, blackmaroon flowers with reflexed petals.

It was used extensively in some of the winning gardens at this year's Chelsea, along with its beautiful white sister, 'Album'. It always looks fabulous in beds, borders and meadow plantings.

Good companions are sweet rocket, honesty, alliums and the thoroughly excellent white annual, Orlaya grandiflora, also conspicuous at Chelsea this year.

Variations include the dark 'Lily Lovell', while G. p. lividum is a dusty slatey colour.

They all have poise, but be warned, the Widow is a prolific self-seeder, especially around the legs of other plants and even in grass. It is one of the very last things to flower in my little spring/ early summer 'meadow garden' . . . being well able to withstand the sticky stuff that drips from the lime tree as the canopy fills out from May onwards.

Invaluable and rather mysterious under the shade of decidious trees, it reaches a height of 2ft and has an 18in spread. I chop it down in early to mid-June and it produces new leaves and a minor second flush later in the year, when the first Cyclamen appear and start the show going all over again.

For height and sheer brilliance there's the somewhat raucous Geranium psilostemon, also known as G. armenium after its place of origin, Armenia. This reaches a height and spread of 4ft and forms a great clump of well-cut, broad leaves , which also take on a fine autumn colour that lasts well until the frosts.

A truly arresting sight from June to September, it produces many dozen intense, magenta-crimson flowers with striking black centres, or eyes.

This big geranium will grow in sun or partial shade in any deep soil, but will usually need some light support, if only a few obliging neighbour plants to lean on.

Lovely in purple or grey groupings or with orange alstroemerias, it also consorts well with tall blue Campanula and the tall, lime- green flowerheads of Euphorbia sikkimensis.

Geranium wallichianium is a good choice for the front of a border, where it reaches a height of 1ft and a spread of 3ft.

Brought back from Himalaya in 1820, the oldest known garden form of this species is 'Buxton's Variety', which likes quite moist soil and will do in sun or part shade.

This one is a real jewel, producing a non-stop procession of Spode-blue flowers with large, white centres from the end of June onwards. If you see this, buy it, though make sure it is Buxton's variety, because I have sometimes seen imposters carrying the same label.

Another one-footer with a slightly lesser spread is G.

himalayense 'Grandiflorum'.

It's another must-have plant, with violet-blue, veined flowers that hover airily over daintily cut leaves, which quite often assume brilliant autumn colouring.

'Irish Blue', with lighter blue flowers, is a form found at St Catherine's Park in Leixlip, Co Kildare, by the late great Graham Stuart Thomas in the 1940s. The same plantsman recommended using this in early summer, teamed with Iris x flavescens.

A few hardy geraniums prefer full sun, most prefer partshade and a few more (G.

punctatum, G. phaeum and another great self-seeder, G.

nodosum) actually prefer full shade. Check their preferences before placing and planting.

Some other good kinds to keep an eye out for are G.

himaleyense, which is low with intensely violet-blue flowers that hover over prettily cut leaves.

There is a gorgeous rich violet-blue with cupped rosettes called G. pratense 'Plenum Violaceum. 'Johnson's Blue' usually gives a second, lesser flush of flowers in early autumn if you cut it back after its first flowering. It's not at all fussy but beware of imposters, of which there are many.

Scent is not a particular attribute of this clan, but G.

maccrorhizum, with pink flowers, does have very scented, sticky leaves that are used for making Oil of Geranium.

Almost evergreen, it also has good autumn colour and does well under trees.

From Madeira comes G.

maderense, a large handsome plant which is truly evergreen and good to look at in winter, if you keep it tidy by removing damaged and discoloured leaves.

Not fully hardy in the coldest places, nor particularly long-lived, the Madeira geranium seeds around very generously and is easily transplanted when small.

Geranium Maderense is grown mainly for its glossy, well-cut foliage, and some people remove the sticky, very pink flowers when they appear. But really, life's too short .

GARDEN WORK

Summer is a comin' in this weekend, according to Met Eireann, so you should be able to plant outdoor tomatoes in their "nal fruiting positions now. By now, you should have hardened them off by leaving them outside during the day and taking them in at night.

Make sure to "rmly stake any that are not of the bush variety.