Not your average geraniums

Frosts and freezes have become a nightly occurrence here (but no snow yet!) so I've been retreating into the house, browsing through books, and, well, making lists of plants to try growing next year (I can't help it, I'm addicted).
The other day I pulled Pelargoniums by Diana Miller off the shelf and started browsing through it. (An aside: I HATE the name Pelargonium. Totally unwieldy. Yet the common name geranium only leads to confusion with Geranium Pelargonium needs a new, unique common name. Anyone have a good idea of one?)
I have to admit, the text is a bit dry – it is all about the wild species pelargoniums, and the descriptions of more scientific than horticultural, but the diversity she describes is quite amazing! Look at some of these photos I took from the Pacific Bulb Society:

Not your everyday red geraniums from the local garden center!

I'm always amazed at the sheer diversity that lurks behind the seemingly most boring of genera. And apparently, the wild species are just the tip of the iceburg – check out some of the cool man-made pelagoniums in these photos I took from the holt geraniums website:

Absolutely gorgeous... I'm writing down on my Plant list 2010: Freaky Cool Pelargonium!