In the season of white and blue

July 22, 2023, 3:22 pm , by Richard Lutz

RICHARD LUTZ wanders through the colour of a summer day

The walk was to be only seven miles through Scottish fields and along the coastline. But somehow this stretched to eleven as detours hooked us along a curving cliff and two crescent shaped beaches.

The warm moist weather is home for July flowers in The Carrick Country, an old fashioned name for a hilly area that rolls towards the sea south of Glasgow. Robert Louis Stevenson roamed through it and wrote about it. As did Robert Burns. Today it comprises Ayrshire. Two colours dominate this time of year: white and blue.

Chief among the whites are oxeye daisies. They bounces in the sea breeze:

And they line old lanes. Or sometimes divide them:

Always present are bluebells:

Now, I have to be careful here. Scottish bluebells, also called harebells or Lady’s Thimble, are members of the campanula family. English bluebells bloom earlier and…oh dear, get this…are steadfast members of the asparagus clan.

Carpeting the farmlands all around is white clover. Its rakish nickname is Ladino. It’s everywhere:

As is the bluish/violet flower called cow vetch:

Folks tend to think of it as a weed. If it is, then it’s an attractive one. It’s a treat for grazing cattle, especially near rubbishy old industrial sites.

Back to white and an infuriating plant is bindweed. Though it has a pretty flower….

Meanwhile, in the meadows, it’s back to blue with spotted orchids:

And all over the place there’s common self heal…

Its Latin name seems a bit risque: Prunella Vulgaris. Maybe she knows Ladino from picaresque nights on the town. Common self heal (aka Prunella) is used as a medicine for coughs and dizziness. And can be added to salads.

Back to white and I saw this in a high level garden surrounded by meadows and views of a testy and rumbly sea:

It’s called Masterwort, aka Astrantia.

And in that same hilltop garden is Alpine sea holly.

Its blue (a cerulean blue?) attracts butterflies. As does the ever present buddleia:

It’s official name, not a pretty one at all, is scrophulariaceae. Its more handy tag is linked with The Rev Adam Buddle, a 17th botanist and, like the sea holly, those butterflies can’t keep away from the nectar.

Finally, if not the prettiest white blossom, then the most fragrant. It’s meadowsweet:

The creamy flower lines lanes and covers marshes. The perfume is deep, evocative, as soft as a pleasant dream. No wonder another name for it is Queen of the Meadow.