Why are some weeds so pretty? This weed flourishes at the front of our house where it does little harm at the moment, but I remove it if I see it in the back garden. When we tidy up our neglected frontage it'll be firmly & decisively dealt with. It took a while to identify it via the www, and I am pleasantly surprised to find it shares my Dad's name, Robert. Its still a weed though, so its going, eventually.
From http://web.guernsey.net/:
Description - An attractive weed with glossy green, well-cut leaves, bright red-stems and purple pink flowers. It is very similar to its close relative, Little Robin, Geranium purpureum, but that is generally a smaller plant, and anthers and pollen are lemon yellow, whereas in Herb Robert they are deep orange.
Habitat - Likes fairly rich soil, and can be found as a garden weed, or on roadsides and wasteland.
Comments - A common plant in Spring and early Summer. It was used herbally to stem bleeding, and the leaves are said to lower blood sugar levels, so it may be of use in treating diabetes.
The reason Herb Robert flowers were in the house was that Jodie wanted to pick several different flowers and stick them to a sheet of paper to make a flower picture. The blossom in the glass had its stems carefully dried on a piece of kitchen paper so the tape would stick to the stems. She also picked forget-me-nots, a dandelion, a bluebell and a Californian poppy. The bud in the background is Clematis Montana.
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