Antidote...

Once again the weather's been persistently grey and gloomy - with a real feel of autumn in the air. After a rather bitty day, during which I achieved less than I'd hoped to, I managed to find five minutes to scour the garden for colour. As soon as I saw this bright little Geum I knew it was the perfect antidote to the gloom.

I don't know the name of the variety - probably I did once but it's been lost in the mists of time. I adore the glorious soft orange-red of the finely veined flowers, the cone of blackish stigmas and the intense yellow of the pollen bursting from the anthers like a firework display.

I know I'm behind with comments again! I'm currently working my way through a report that needs to be sent off tomorrow evening. It's getting close to completion, but I always find the finishing touches take more time than I've allowed!

Tomorrow Alex has his enrolment at Shuttleworth and on Friday Pete and I are back to our Colchester quarry. We're all off on holiday to Suffolk next week, and the weekend will be spent in mad preparation. So I'm afraid my ability to comment may be a bit limited in the near future...