Surprising Plants

I photographed this plant a couple of weeks ago beside some shops on the main road in Herndon.  It was full of berries and a little more blue-purple than this photo would suggest.  It is a Purple Beautyberry - Claire and I did see one at the National Botanic Garden in Washington DC but clearly it thrives in other places in Virginia.  It is very striking, mainly due to the lilac-violet colour of the berries.

This tree, in Reston town centre, is a bit of a mystery.  It looks a little like a cherry tree but it has lost its leaves and it is now covered with masses of glossy berries..

The only thing I can find in my book which is similar is a shrub called Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo).

Yesterday when walking 'around the block', I photographed this little flower.

Nothing unusual about the flower - I think that it is Forsythia - but I was surprised to see it in flower at this time of year rather than in early Spring.