June 17 2019 – Common Poppy

Papaver rhoeas
Gaelic: Crom-lus

Very popular annual wildflower, often found in open corn fields, which provides a food source for birds and bumblebees. The attractive seedhead can be left for autumn and winter.

Fast Facts:

  • Colour: scarlet red
  • Flowering time: June-August
  • Type: annual
  • Height: 20-40cm
  • Habitat: dry, sunny open sites 
  • Suitable for: sunny open places

May 27 2019 – Danish Scurvy Grass

Cochlearia danica
Gaelic: Carran-Danmhairgeach 

A small, delicate flower with four white or mauve petals and a high tolerance of salt. The leaves are rich in Vitamin C, therefore eaten by sailors between journeys to avoid scurvy.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: White, mauve
  • Flowering time: May-June
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Low growing
  • Habitat: Salt marshes, sea shores, nowadays also on motorways due to salt use in winter
  • Suitable for: Exposed salty sites

May 13 2019 – Birds-foot trefoil

Lotus corniculatus
Gaelic: blàthan-buidhe nam bò

Bright yellow pea type flowers which form large patches in dry grassland. Pollinated by bees; the leaves are the food plant of the common blue butterfly caterpillar. The name refers to the shape of the seedpods.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Yellow
  • Flowering time: May-September
  • Type: perennial|
  • Height: Up to 15cm
  • Habitat: meadows, roadsides, well-drained grassland
  • Suitable for: well-drained open sites

Beautiful wildflower that produces spectacular spikes of blue flowers that are very attractive to bees, butterflies and moths. It was once used as an anti-venom for bites from the spotted viper, and is the county flower of East Lothian.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Blue, pink/purple
  • Flowering time: May-July
  • Type: Biennial
  • Height: Up to 1m
  • Habitat: Dry grassland, banks and dunes, on chalky soil 
  • Suitable for: Sunny spots

November 19 2018: Red Fescue

Festuca rubra
Gaelic: Fèist-ruadh

A fine leaved perennial grass which can form tussocks or have a more spreading form. Can be found in a wide range of grasslands including coastal areas. The caterpillars of the Grayling butterfly feed on this grass.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Medium-dark green foliage, reddish spikelets
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: 30-100cm
  • Habitat: Wide range of ecological sites from sand, gravel and pebble beaches to moist meadows and disturbed soils from sea level to high altitude
  • Suitable for: Well drained sites and droughty, infertile soil in shade or sun

November 12 2018: Sea Campion

Silene uniflora
Gaelic: Coirean na Mara

Sea Campion copy

Fast facts:

A pretty white flower with distinctive, fleshy leaves. This mat-forming plant is related to the carnation. You find it along coastlines.

  • Colour: White
  • Flowering time: June-August
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Low-growing
  • Habitat: Coastlines, cliff-tops, amongst shingle 
  • Suitable for: exposed sites

November 5 2018: Giant Bellflower

Campanula latifolia
Gaelic: Guc Mor (Large Bell)

Giant Bellflower 2.jpeg

Fast facts:

A clump forming, tall, elegant, shade tolerant plant with white or pale lilac, bell-shaped flowers on an unbranched stem.

  • Colour: White or pale lilac
  • Flowering time: July-August
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Up to 150cm
  • Habitat: Lowland woods, hedgerows
  • Suitable for: Moderately shady sites, woodland

October 22 2018: Tufted Hair Grass

Deschampsia cespitosa

Tufted Hair Grass 1

A tall tussock forming grass with rough leaves and silvery green flower heads which grows in damp areas with impeded drainage – good for a wet corner of the garden.
Tussocky growth offers good shelter for invertebrates when weather is cold and wet.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Silver-green
  • Flowering time: June-August
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Up to 1.5m
  • Habitat: Marshy fields, rough grassland, woodland
  • Suitable for: waterlogged areas

October 22 2018: Red Campion

Silene dioica
Gaelic: Cirean Coilich (Cock’s Comb)

Red Campion 2

A versatile wildflower with downy foliage found in a wide range of sites. Its bright pink flowers are in bloom for a long period during the summer, opening during daylight to attract butterflies and bumblebees.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Pink
  • Flowering time: May-July
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: 40cm-1m
  • Habitat: Roadside verges, field margins, coastal areas, hedgerows, woodlands 
  • Suitable for: Hedgerow, woodland and sunny sites

October 15 2018: Haresfoot Clover

Trifolium arvense
Gaelic: Cas-mhaighiche

Haresfoot

A flowering plant of the bean family. The flowers are grouped in a dense inflorescence with hairy petals. It is popular with bees.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Rosy white with silky white hairs
  • Flowering time: Mid-spring to late summer
  • Type: Annual, sometimes biennial
  • Height: 10-40cm
  • Habitat: Sand dunes, edge of fields, wastelands, road sides
  • Suitable for: Dry sandy soil

September 24 2018: Fairy Foxglove

Erinus alpinus
Gaelic: Meuran-sìthe

Fairy Foxglove 2

Low growing alpine plant that spreads slowly and forms a carpet of clumps with delicate little lilac or mauve flowers and rosettes of rounded-lobed leaves.

Our friends at the Granton Castle Walled Garden found these during this year’s gardening season and added them to our selection of wildflowers.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Lilac (sometimes pink or white) 
  • Flowering time: May – August
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Up to 15cm
  • Habitat: Old stone walls
  • Suitable for: Rockery or perennial garden in full sun or partial shade

September 17 2018: Rock Rose

Helianthemum nummularium
Gaelic: Grian-ros (Sun Rose)

Rockrose 3

A patch-forming plant with bright yellow flowers and dark green foliage. 

The leaves are the food plant of the Northern Brown Argus butterfly which lives on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. This species is part of the Square Metre for Butterflies Edinburgh Living Landscape project, where people with roof gardens or green roofs are encouraged to do just that – plant a square metre for butterflies!

Rock Rose is used as a Bach Flower remedy to help build courage and alleviate terror. It is also the county flower of Berwickshire.

Fast facts:

  • Colour: Bright yellow
  • Flowering time: Early summer
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Low growing
  • Habitat: Sunny, lime-rich banks and cliffs, mainly in South and East Scotland 
  • Suitable for: Rock gardens, walls, dry places

September 10 2018: Mullein

Verbascum thapsus
Gaelic: Coinneal Moire (Shepherd’s Club)

Mullein 2.jpeg

Downy leaf rosette with tall flower spike. Likes dry, base rich grassy places and grows on derelict vacant land in Edinburgh.

Fast Facts:

  • Colour: Yellow
  • Flowering time: June-September
  • Type: Biennial
  • Height: Up to 2m
  • Habitat: Sunny banks, woodland clearings
  • Suitable for: Dry soils, open, sunny sites

March 2 2018: Oxeye Daisy

Leucanthemum Vulgare
Gaelic: Neoinean Mor

A00207B9-0B61-47F5-87C6-005D3ED73B02

A large white daisy flower with yellow centre, widely distributed in grassland habitats and on waste ground. The flower heads have bright orange pollen, which attracts pollen beetles, slaters and flies.

Fast Facts:

  • Colour: White with yellow centre
  • Flowering time: June to September
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Up to 1m
  • Habitat: Meadows and waste ground all over Scotland
  • Suitable for: Lightly shaded or sunny sites

January 22 2018: Fairy Foxglove

Erinus aplinus
Gaelic: Meuran-Sithe

Fairy Foxglove

A low growing alpine plant that spreads slowly with delicate small lilac or mauve flowers and rosettes of rounded lobed leaves.

Our friends at the Granton Castle Walled Garden found these during our gardening season and added them to our selection of wild flowers.

Fast Facts:

  • Colour: Lilac (sometimes can be pink or white)
  • Flowering time: May to August
  • Type: Perennial
  • Height: Up to 15 cms
  • Habitat: Old stone walls
  • Suitable for: Rockery or perennial garden – in full sun or partial shade