A day to dream of summer heather and anticipate warmer days with this beautifully colored tartan! Heather, alongside the thistle, is one of Scotland's most recognized flowers, especially in the Highlands, where it flourishes in a profusion of purple. In Gaelic, heather is called fraoch, a name that appears in many places across Scotland, including Allt Fraoch Coire—the "stream of the heather corrie"—in Glen Affric.

Beyond its beauty, heather has long held practical value. Its long, leggy stems were used for durable thatching and for making strong ropes capable of withstanding the harsh effects of seawater. Bundles of heather were also fashioned into besoms and brooms, and its botanical name, Calluna, comes from the Greek kalluna, meaning "to brush." On the Isle of Lewis, a unique heather hoe was crafted with two rows of wooden teeth followed by a row of heather, used to smooth the soil.

Heather has also played an important role in folk medicine. An infusion of its tops was traditionally used to treat coughs, consumption, and soothe the nerves. Highlanders brewed heather tea and created ointments to ease arthritis and rheumatism. A favorite of poet Robert Burns, "moorland tea" made from heather flowers was both a remedy and a comfort. The dried flowers, known for their sleep-inducing aroma, were even used to make heather mattresses. Long lengths of flowering heather were arranged in the bed frame, flowers facing upward and leaning toward the bedhead. These natural beds were so effective that in the 16th century, James VI’s tutor, George Buchanan, wrote that a heather bed was “so pleasant that it may vie in softness with the finest down, while in salubrity it far exceeds it … and restores strength to fatigued nerves, so that those who lie down languid and weary in the evening arise in the morning vigorous and sprightly.”💜 💙 💚 💜 🌿