Flower power to help Museum






















The primroses came out early this year, heralding the arrival of spring. And now with May Day we enter a new season.  It’s no surprise that this pretty plant has been adopted as our county flower,  decorating as it does, in the words of the official website “countless miles of Devon's hedgerows and roadside verges in the early months of the year.”

The flower has been chosen also for its value as a symbol of conservation.  “Common species such as the Primrose are often useful indicators of the world around us,” I read a little further on the site. 

“Unless we succeed in maintaining the status of such common plants, we stand little chance in saving those habitats and species that are already rare or threatened. By promoting the conservation of the Primrose, we can help to look after the many habitats in which it is fundamental for growth and the many species that are typically found along side it.”

 






















'The Primrose' from volume I of Familiar Wild Flowers by F. Edward Hulme FLS, FSA

London: Cassell Petter & Galpin [1877]


So there we have it. The Primrose, like Fairlynch, is doing its bit for conservation. Primrose Cottage, the original name of the Museum building, was a highly appropriate choice for one of Budleigh Salterton’s best known landmarks, You might even call it prescient.

With spring, out with the old, in with the new. It was felt that the Museum’s newsletter needed freshening-up and with plenty of changes taking place at Fairlynch it seems a good moment to change the look of the Friends of Fairlynch newsletter.  The silhouettes, incidentally, are supposedly those of Matthew Yeates, the builder of Primrose Cottage back in 1811 or thereabouts.


 

This is one proposal for the new-look newsletter. Do let us know what you think, with a comment on this site or even an email to mr.downes@gmail.com  We’d value your thoughts even if you live on the other side of the world and are not yet a Friend of Fairlynch.

To read about Devon County Council’s Primrose Action Plan click on http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/environmentplanning/natural_environment/biodiversity/county-flower-primrose/primroses/why_conserve_primroses.htm

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