Spring Squills and Tormentil

At last the Spring Squills (Scilla verna) are in flower, like patches of fallen stars amongst the greening heather and tormentil (Potentlla erecta) on the drier cliff tops. The delicate blue of the squills contrasts with the strong yellow of the tormentil flowers as both spangle the grass and heather. Although rather rare over the country as a whole, the squills are locally common along the Moray Firth cliffs. A real gem of a flower, one of Grey Granite's favourites, always finding the first flowers each Spring is a 'my heart leaps up when I behold' moment for Grey Granite. Such moments put her in mind of her friend Eva who had an extensive knowledge of wild flowers, painted them exquisitely and was Grey Granite's botanical mentor.