We might not associate the Hebrides with water lilies but then we do have a lot of water around. Here and there in the moors you will come across water lilies in some of the lochans - a calm, still habitat also home to pond skaters and damsel flies.

My Hebridean island is not lush. It is beautiful, wind swept and at times harsh. However, look more closely and you find special nooks of flora. Down the sides of streams, on steep rocky outcrops and fresh-water islands… Mostly where our sheep cannot quite reach, and amongst these fertile spots are often ferns.

In the 19th and early 20th Century the herring industry was at its height in Stornoway and Barra in the Outer Hebrides, during which time the summer populations of these ports would double with the influx of fishermen, herring gutters and packers, fish curers and coopers.

Every Easter holiday of my childhood was spent within the Cairngorm mountains in theScottish Highlands. Skiing if there was snow, hiking and biking if there was not. It conjures up memories of the sound of wind in the Caledonian forests, the earthy smell of peat bogs and pine sap, with cosy cottages to come back to after a long day on the hill.

As a designer living in the Hebrides, I take inspiration from my stunning natural environment. One of my happiest places in the islands is summer time on the machair, the raised beach area between the hill and shore. At this time of year, the machair is full of wild flowers - corn-marigolds, field poppies and ox-eyed daisies all of which grow a...