Logan Botanic Garden Spotlight on Coastal Wildflowers.
Find out more about flowers that can be seen on the Rhins of Galloway Coast Path by visiting the Wildflowers of Coastal Cliffs Exhibition hosted by Logan Botanic Garden during May and June 2021.
The Rhins of Galloway Coast Path is an ambitious project to create an 83-mile circular walking route. When complete you will be able to experience all the stunning scenery of Scotland’s south west coast from windswept cliffs to sheltered bays. Now summer is on its way visits to the coast provide a perfect opportunity to take a closer look at flowers in the wild!
Where the land meets the sea is always a demanding place for plants to survive. Rock faces are particularly exposed to extremes of weather making coastal cliffs an even more precarious place for flowers to thrive. There is a wildness about the vegetation on cliffs along the Rhins of Galloway coast that is uplifting, and it is probably the nearest habitat to “natural” that can be found in Scotland. Over thousands of years people have modified the countryside, but the ancient world survives on our windswept coasts.
Plants living on cliffs must withstand the harsh conditions of salty sea spray and drying winds but also benefit from the warmer winter temperatures of a maritime climate. Several plants reach the northern limits of their UK distribution in the Rhins of Galloway and are unlikely to be seen elsewhere in Scotland.
To accompany the exhibition a guide to common flowers has also been published helping visitors to know their Scot’s lovage from their golden samphire.
Download the flower guide by clicking on the image below or click here
The Rhins of Galloway Coast Path is a project managed by Dumfries and Galloway Council and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Coastal Communities Fund.
There are plans to run events to reveal the amazing wildlife on the Rhins coast so keep an eye on the @Rhinsofgallowaycoastpath Facebook page.