Plant Badges Growing in Your Garden

[BoldHighlander]

My Google-Fu has failed me:

What reference would I use to determine the plant badge of Clan Gunn (sept Robinson, if it matters)?

Hi, everything I've located lists the Clan Gunn plant badge as Juniper.

[creagdhubh]

My wife and her family are Robertsons, descended from the clan located in southern Perthshire-traditonal lands of the Robertsons of Struan (current Chief). She, as well as her uncle, Kenneth Alan Robertson, wear bracken in their brooch and bonnet. She tells me that bracken is the accepted plant badge of the Clann Donnachaidh and is indeed officially recognized by the Court of the Lord Lyon.

Yours aye,

[Kornkob]

Hi, everything I've located lists the Clan Gunn plant badge as Juniper.

Thank you.


Now to find a Juniper tree in Wisconsin.

[BoldHighlander]

I hit the local nurseries today in search of the elusive summer blooming White Heather (to add to my winter blooming white heather).

Well, at the last stop I found a whole display of summer blooming heathers, including many white varieties!!

Along with three of those, I also picked up the traditional "purple" flowering heather (plant badge for the Clan Donald) to plant in another location of the property. Once I've got them all planted I'll be posting pictures.

[ThistleDown]

Vaccinium vitis idaea, the Red Whortleberry of the Clan Chattan. In recent years the Macphersons have taken to using white heather as their
badge mainly because it is easily found in garden centres, but the rest of the constituent clans continue with this member of the heath family commonly found all over the central Highlands. This example is growing in my garden in North Vancouver. Whortlerry is also known as mountain cranberry, lingonberry, cowberry and foxberry.



Rex

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

Thank you.


Now to find a Juniper tree in Wisconsin.

Eastern Redcedar, Juniperus virginiana. Not a Scottish species, obviously, but grows everywhere in the midwest.

[Jack Daw]

Thanks for posting the white heather! It's also the plant badge for clan MacIntyre. Iy won't grow in Houston, TX.

[creagdhubh]

Greetings all,

The following photos are examples of how I wear my clan's plant badge. I typically alter the actual size of the sprays of heather; from large, multiple sprigs bundled together for a more dramatic look (first few photos taken locally), to maybe two or three sprigs for a lighter look (final photo taken in Scotland).

Like I mentioned in a previous post in this thread, I would order all of my Scottish white heather direct from a wee company located in Argyll (now I grow a different species of white heather that has noticeably larger flowering buds than its Highland counterpart-I prefer the more delicate look of the Scottish variety), however, they have seemed to go out of business, or perhaps they just ended their online sales, because their wonderful website does not exist anymore. I would order several sprays of white heather at a time, usually fresh white heather during the blooming season (May-early October). However, one could order dried white heather at any time during the year. They also sold fresh and dried purple heather as well. I really wish they were still around. Enjoy the photos.

[Mike_Oettle]

This has been a most interesting thread to follow.
When I was with my regiment we once travelled through an area where heather grew, and I put some behind my bonnet badge. But for some reason the NCOs didn’t like it, and they told me to throw it out!
I stuck the heather in because I had been reading a novel about campaigns fought in Scotland, so I was quite taken with the idea.
But then there were many in the regiment that were ignorant of Scottish customs.
Erica is a genus of heath that is endemic to the fynbos region of the Western Cape and the western part of the Eastern Cape.
A school here in Port Elizabeth uses the red erica as its badge. The school is aptly named: Erica Girls’ Primary.
The ferns shown in the picture are similar in many respect to the indigenous South African ferns that grow in my garden.
Thanks especially to Kyle for posting those pictures showing the various possible uses of a plant badge in the bonnet – or should I say bonnets. That’s a nice collection of headgear.
Regards,
Mike

[creagdhubh]

This has been a most interesting thread to follow.
When I was with my regiment we once travelled through an area where heather grew, and I put some behind my bonnet badge. But for some reason the NCOs didn’t like it, and they told me to throw it out!
I stuck the heather in because I had been reading a novel about campaigns fought in Scotland, so I was quite taken with the idea.
But then there were many in the regiment that were ignorant of Scottish customs.
Erica is a genus of heath that is endemic to the fynbos region of the Western Cape and the western part of the Eastern Cape.
A school here in Port Elizabeth uses the red erica as its badge. The school is aptly named: Erica Girls’ Primary.
The ferns shown in the picture are similar in many respect to the indigenous South African ferns that grow in my garden.
Thanks especially to Kyle for posting those pictures showing the various possible uses of a plant badge in the bonnet – or should I say bonnets. That’s a nice collection of headgear.
Regards,
Mike

Mike,

Thanks for your interesting post, I wonder why your former NCO's didn't like the heather behind your badge? I think you are correct in saying that many within your regiment were ignorant of Scottish customs-not all are educated and informed of such traditions.

You are more than welcome for the photos and thanks for taking the time to take a wee look. Yes, I have collected my bonnets over the years and am quite proud of them. They are all made by Robert Mackie in Scotland, and are indeed treasured items that I will pass down to my wee bairns one day.

Stay tuned to this thread from time to time, as I am quite sure more information, discussions, and photos will be posted very soon. I plan to post several photos once I attain some red whortleberry!

Cheers Mike,