Full-on Florals - July 2026 - Marian Bruce

At this time of year the Scottish countryside is at it’s most bloomin’ gorgeous - it is bursting with blossom. Nothing says high summer like florals. Wild rose, vetches, oxeye daisy, red and white campion, the fragile harebell, mallow, tormentil and delicate bedstraws are all out in full bloom and the bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths are having a feast. Flowers are a vital part of many diverse ecosystems in Scotland. The flowers support a multitude of insect pollinators, which in turn are a vital food source for insectivorous birds and for bats too.  The web of life always starts with plants - without them there is nothing else. 

Tree flowers in our woodlands and hedgerows are often overlooked as they tend to be small and are up high but they provide a vast amount of pollen and nectar throughout the spring and summer. I remember walking under the avenue of small leaved lime trees (Tilia cordata) in flower at Dundreggan Estate one recent summer and being astounded by the loudness of the hum of thousands of bees feasting on the diminutive, but clearly very tasty, green flowers in the canopy. Grassland flowers are down low and clearly more accessible and tend to be more visible and “blousy” so these are more familiar - buttercup, poppy and harebell amongst my favourites. Marginal waterside or riparian and marsh flowers are amongst the rarest in Scotland as so many of our wetlands have been drained over hundreds of years, making this such a rare habitat. Seeing the stunning yellow flag of the marsh iris (Iris pseudacorus) is indicative of marshy areas in the Highlands. In my childhood I was obsessed with finding, learning about, cataloguing and pressing wild flowers - capturing their diverse petal shapes and colours between the blotting paper of my flower press, which was a prized birthday gift. Perhaps it was obvious to my family that I was destined to become a biologist, specialising in genetic diversity, when I took such an early interest in all things wild. There is great value in both the appreciation of plant wonderous form and the analysis of their population genetics – for the soul and for science.

Some flowers are edible but not all so be very careful that you are confident about your plant identification when you are foraging for flowers. Two in particular are highly toxic – foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and the beautiful but deadly wolfbane or monk’s hood (Aconitum napellus) so it is useful to look these up and be familiar with them if you are foraging for flowers or generally being out and about in Scotland’s countryside.  

The flower of the honeysuckle is edible even though the fruit (well actually just the seed) is toxic. Honeysuckle is one of the most exotic of our wild flowers, looking like something from a tropical paradise, with bunches of pink and white trumpets. Honeysuckle is named for the wee shot of sweet nectar that can be sooked from the base of each trumpet flower which in former times before sugar was readily available must have been a summer treat for children. The scent of this native woodland and hedgerow climbing plant is also a wonder – a heady sweet floral scent so powerful that it was said that if it was brought indoors it would give girls erotic dreams! If you are lucky to have it as a garden plant then enjoy you sweet dreams.

Surprisingly, of all of our floral wild botanical syrups, honeysuckle is the only one that delivers what you are expecting in terms of the flavour – it absolutely tastes how it smells.  That heady fragrance of honeysuckle on a summer evening is a joy on the palate as well as the nose. We are celebrating the full-on floral of honeysuckle in two mocktails and a cocktail to cool you on a summer’s day and it is also features in The White Raven Outlander themed cocktail we featured combined beautifully with birch from the article from late February – happy summer mixing. 

View the White Raven Outlander Cocktail

Honeysuckle Apple Sparkle Mocktail

Ingredients

• 15mls Honeysuckle Wild Scottish syrup

• 100mls apple juice

• Small handful mint leaves, roughly chopped

• Slice of apple as garnish

• Sparkling or soda water

Steps

1. Mix the Honeysuckle syrup with the apple juice.  

2. Add a small handful mint leaves, stir well, then pour into a tall glass.  

3. Add ice, top up with sparkling or soda water

4. Add a slice of apple as garnish and serve.

Honeysuckle Hedgerow Mocktail

Ingredients

• 25mls Honeysuckle Wild Scottish syrup

• 10mls fruit puree (use raspberry, strawberry or any other red fruit - fresh or frozen)

• 10mls fresh lime juice

• 50mls apple juice

• 30mls soda water

• Sprig of mint

Steps

1. Combine Ingredients in a cocktail shaker in the order listed, except soda water

2. Shake vigorously

3. Pour into chilled serving glass

4. Top with soda water

5. Garnish with mint and serve

Wild Southside Cocktail

Ingredients

• 50 ml Larch and Honeysuckle Spirit 

• 25 ml lime juice

• 15 ml elderflower syrup

• mint leaves

• mint leaves, to garnish

Steps

1. Muddle mint leaves in a cocktail shaker.

2. Add the spirit, lime juice, and syrup with ice.

3. Shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.

4. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

5. Garnish with mint leaves.

Remember to practice sustainable foraging: be sure you have identified the plant correctly, pick only what you need and take a little from many different plants and places https://foragers-association.org/principles 

This article was written without the assistance of AI.