Gorse

One of my favourite plants is gorse which is a huge surprise to most people.  Why do I love it so much?  Well, one interesting fact is that it is seldom out of flower which is perhaps the reason that the saying, ‘When gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season’ is so good.  It means that kissing is never out of season!

Another reason must be the wonderful bright in-your-face colour and smell of it.  Its an almost orangey yellow and certainly lifts the spirits.  When the sun is on the blooms the arresting smell of coconut and vanilla is just wonderful, reminiscent of tropical beaches.

The gorse flowers are picked (carefully – those spines are unforgiving) and used in drinks, shampoos and lotions.  Isle of Bute gin, just a hop skip and a jump away from Loch Riddon Bothy do a particularly tasty Gorse Gin

The glorious yellow gorse flower, hand picked from Mount Stuart Estate, gives our gin a floral nose with hints of coconut and vanilla reminiscent

of a summer’s day walk along the Bute coastline.  Hand crafted and bottled on Bute, together our Gorse and Heather gins showcase the splendour of Bute’s wild places.

Fiona McGuigan over at Argyll Botany has a delicious smelling Wild Gorse and Lime hand and body wash.

Gorse is an ideal nesting place and refuge for a wide range of birds such as linnets and stonechat and including the yellowhammer – the latter being particularly elusive in this part of Scotland.  The dense structure of gorse also provides important refuge for these birds and others in harsh weather.

Gorse is also important for invertebrates.  It is in flower for most of the year and is thus an important nectar source especially in early spring and early winter when little else is in flower.

It seeds prolifically and is also easy to grow from cuttings.  We now have a hedge of it between the main road and our little access track.