Caged berry

Having spent ages writing about my day, I accidentally deleted my entry :( Adding this to the fact that I managed to go out for a walk this afternoon with two lenses and no camera (I'd left it on the table at home) I'm beginning to think that the early mornings are turning my brain to mush!

As a result of my ineptitude, I had no photographs by the time dusk approached, and the sunset I was hoping for faded to nothing. So I scrabbled around in the half-lit garden looking for something to photograph (which is starting to become a habit).

I was rather taken by this lacy seed-head of the shoo-fly plant Nicandra physalodes and brought one inside to photograph. The shoo-fly plant's an annual that is sometimes grown from seed to add interest to borders. Ours was given to us by a neighbour and has re-appeared most years since. It gets its name from it's supposedly insect repelling properties, though the flowers are very attractive to hoverflies.

It's a member of the Solanaceae or potato family, and many of you will see a similarity to Chinese lanterns or cape gooseberries, which are also in this family. The plants and fruits are not considered to be edible, although there are no reports that they are harmful. It originates from to South America, which gives it the alternative name of apple-of-Peru.

The lighting was provided by a bright LED torch, bought for DIY and emergencies, but which comes in very handy for photography!