Antidote to a grey day.

A dull, grey start to the day had me looking to the garden for inspiration. This Pieris is brighter than we can ever remember it being before, as are many others that we have seen in this,area and elsewhere.
We think it may be because there has been virtually no late Spring frost this year which can kill the new shoots.

Normally it is a mass of flowers (as in the bottom right) which attracts the bees in big numbers, but the red bracts have taken precedence this year so we felt we should have
a picture of it for posterity. Here it is last year flowering in that false summer we had in March.

It did brighten a little this afternoon but it is raining now - We have to find brightness wherever we can!