A TREE or a bush, I’m never sure. But the distinction doesn’t really matter, for at this time of year the white-fuzzed blooms of our flowering blackthorns are a sight to behold.

For most of the year the blackthorn is almost anonymous, but for a short time in early spring it sings and dances with white-flowering magnificence.

The unusual thing about the blackthorn is that it flowers first, with the leaves following later. It is this combination of these brilliant white flowers set against the bare leafless branches which makes the blackthorn shine.

Even when the weather turns freezing the flowers will still blossom, with a cold spring traditionally being known as a ‘blackthorn winter’.

The blackthorn gets its name from it dark bark and when it grows in thickets, it creates a very dense and formidable thorny barrier, making it a pretty handy hedging for farmers looking to stockade their livestock.

The wood was also much sought after in the past for the fashioning of tough walking sticks.

In folklore the blackthorn is associated with ill luck and in ancient Ireland it was known as ‘straif’, thought to be the origin of the word strife.

But the blackthorn is undoubtedly best known for its bitter tasting fruits we all know most familiarly as sloes, and which are used for making wine, jams, and of course for flavouring gin.

Another intriguing plant making its presence felt just now is the white butterbur, which favours growing in shaded areas beside burns and rivers.

The first green nodules of growth were visible sprouting from the ground in early January and over the next few weeks their rather strange and almost primeval looking flower-spikes will appear, each one held aloft on an elongated stalk.

Down by the River Devon, a recent spell of rainy weather resulted in its waters spilling over onto the haugh or flood meadow.

One bird that benefits from these watery inundations are the black-headed gulls, which like nothing better than to swoop and hover over the flooded pools in search of worms and other invertebrates.

These gulls will also suddenly appear over other rivers in the area when they too flood, such as the Forth, Teith and Allan. Black-headed gulls are picture perfection of grace and agility and I never tire from watching them.