Amazing cranesbill

Some species of geraniums in the garden are just starting to show the amazing mechanism that helps them with seed dispersal. The long beak-like "cranesbill" sticking up from the centre of each flower has gradually been getting drier and browner, with a series of increasingly brittle seed pods clustered around its base. Suddenly, this afternoon, some of these bills have split and sprung upwards, carrying the delicate seed pods and flinging the seeds into the air. There should be plenty of geranium seedlings in the garden next spring - there can never be too many!