Lighthouse Letters
By Sharma Krauskopf
This is an article by Sharma Krauskopf from Michigan who fell in love with Scotland - and decided to buy a lighthouse keepers' cottage at Eshaness, a remote location in Shetland, in the far north of Scotland and live there each winter. These pages were previously part of the "Scottish Radiance e-magazine Web site which was created by Sharma.
Walking Among the Orchids
Shetland is covered with wild flowers at this time of year. They come in all colours and sizes. I keep thinking I have found my favourite one and then I find something else.Needless to say the sea pinks are the most prolific at the lighthouse with huge masses of them growing everywhere. They are not all pink some are white, some almost red, and some a purple. It is a sight to behold and to smell. I did not realize sea pinks had an odour but when there are thousands they definitely do.
The biggest surprise has been the hundreds of orchids that are now growing in the fields around the lighthouse. Everywhere I walk I will come across the beautiful little flowers. They are all colours of blue, pink, and white. The plants are not large but they have multitudes of blooms on each plant. The leaves look just like regular orchid plants except some have spots. I picked a bouquet for my table. (Now that is elegance - a bouquet of over a hundred small orchids). In large amounts like the bouquet they also have a beautiful smell.
I am totally fascinated with the tiny orchids of Shetland and have transplanted one of each colour I like to my garden. I took lots of soil with each plant so I do think they will bloom for years to come. As long as they are blooming I will not leave the lighthouse without my trowel as I just might stumble across an orchid of another colour or shape for the garden.
Flower Lover, Sharma
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