Green-fingered members of Hunterston Rotary Club battled the elements to ensure that hundreds of crocus bulbs made it to West Kilbride’s Wild Meadow ready for spring 2023.

Trowels in hand, and clad in waterproofs, three stalwarts from the club fought off a deluge of winter rains in a successful bid that will see an area of the town bloom next year.

In a rain-sodden part of the Glen, Rotarians decided to continue their good community relationship programmes, purchasing boxes of the plucky little plants which are often the first to emerge, heralding the imminent arrival of spring.

Rotarian Jim Jackson, a resident of West Kilbride, said: “These bulbs produce gorgeous little flowers of purple, white and yellow bringing long-lasting colour and beauty to any garden, glen or field. They grow easily and will flower for years in the the town’s Wild Meadow.”

Club member Gib Fitzgibbon added: “We thought that the small spring- Eurasian plant of the Iris family would be an ideal choice in the Hunterston Club’s support for the ‘End Polio Now’ campaign."

The crocus has been known throughout recorded history, mainly as the source of saffron.

It is native to woodland, scrub and meadows, having arrived in Europe from Turkey in the 16th century, becoming popular as an ornamental plant.

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