Wildflowers to brighten up Thurso

Local green-fingered activist Alexander Glasgow is moving ahead with his plans to set up wildflower areas as part of the Thurso In Colour project. He has already identified several potential locations near popular recreation areas, including the embankment on the town's Esplanade which he stated had been allowed to become overgrown with unsightly bindweed and dockens over recent years.

Mr Glasgow explained that the community services could only do what their equipment allowed at the steep grassy area below Marine Terrace which he described as being on a slope of about 45 degrees. "As you can see, it is not visually attractive with a large number of injurious weeds," he pointed out. "It's not something I could do – the scope is beyond my plans at the moment. I am focusing on small parcels of ground and am raising it with relevant stakeholder groups.

Another resident has taken up the issue of the embankment with him and he feels that it is area which should be involved in the project as it is a focal point of the town. "If the council insists on a thrice yearly cut, it should seek to control the injurious weeds," the activist said.

He felt the embankment would suit wild grasses, and thinks that it would be a good position for sea holly, which grows well in coastal areas.

Referring to a similar project in Rotherham where a sea of colourful wildflowers now covers an amazing eight miles along roadsides, he said his plans were on a much smaller scale. "A bit more than eight yards, but not eight miles or even furlongs," he said. "It is an aspiration for me."

The activist, who is known for having his gnome helpers always at his side, joked: "Although gnomes are a ground-dwelling race, they live in perpetual fear of being snatched by hawks and eagles. Tall wildflower and grass provide welcome cover."

Among the areas he is looking at are a couple of unused flowerbeds near the riverside as well as a bit of land at the old mart site in the town. Mr Glasgow said that people could donate wildflower seeds to the project.

The keen gardener stated that in urban settings the wildflowers are better described as pictorial floral displays which can change on a subconscious level how passers-by view the area. The plantings will also increase biodiversity by attracting pollinators.

Donations for the wildflower project can be made to Thurso In Colour on gofundme.

Related story: 'I'm not bananas,' says Thurso's green-fingered, gnome-loving community stalwart as he seeks to expand enterprise

I have contacted ward cllrs and the community council regarding support and further funding applications, and have received an offer to help seek matchfunding for the recent Cairn Housing Association donation pending suitable negotiations with the relevant officers.

He is also looking at getting picnic tables installed at playareas in Thurso, with the first possibly being installed at Oldfield Terrace.

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