looks like one of the auriculas but the toothed edge may mean its not. Not that good on primulas really :o)

Thank you SBG you can see how tiny it is compared to the beech leaves lying around. I will post another photo when the flower comes out.

It may be primula marginata. There are several named varieties and hybrids of it so it may not be possible to give a precise name

Thank you A'r I have trawled the net and come up with one named Herb Dickson. I have e mailed the company with this site address and a photo of the plant and hope to have a response from them. Once the flower opens that will make it easier too so I will just have to be patient.

It looks like P. marginata cultivar to me.

i agree with andrewr and bulbaholic,but would like to see the picture when flower fully open.

Thank you for the interest, I found this "Herb Dickson" description which seems to fit very well. Flowers April to May, It grows from a clump of shoots which become leggy Leaves rubbery and succulent and do not wilt easily. And most important only 4-6" high. I will keep you posted.

Just to let you know that Roger Pierce of Sequim (pronounced skwim) Rare Plants in Washington State USA has replied to my e-mail. I copy below what he had to say.
I strongly agree with the member of your group who believes that it could well be Primula marginata. The serrated margins of the leaves are the strongest clue. But, as you say, that the leaves also look to be fleshy, also support it being P. marginata. There are quite a large number of varieties or clones of P. marginata that have been named over the years, and the differences in the color among them is often very slight. So I could not say for certain whether or not it is the same one shown on our website as 'Herb Dickson.'

One difficulty with viewing photographs on a computer is that colors do not always look identical from computer to computer. So the color of these flowers on your computer could well be different from how they appear on the computer in front of me.

The Royal Horticultural Society lists well over fifty varieties of Primula maginata within their plant finder. Here is a link to page one of their list of Primula -- http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantfinder2.asp?crit=primula+and+marginata&Genus=Primula

It is very nice to be asked this question by you. Primulas as a group are wonderful plants because they are so diverse and colorful. And Primula marginata is a favorite of ours.

I have taken his advice and think I may have bought it at Edrom Nursery in Berwickshire. I will pay them a visit when the flower opens. I will keep you updated. The web site of his nursery is www.sequimrareplants.com

Most nurserymen will try to be helpful to fellow gardeners, even those who are unlikely to be customers. Try sending the picture to Edrom, they will be just as helpful.

Edrom is on the east coast about 75 miles away and hubby and I can treat ourselves to a fish supper in Eyemouth. I have already told him, so we will enjoy our day out. The chap at Edrom was very welcoming when our garden group popped in when we noticed it in the passing. Once a month five of us, the local pensioners gardening group, used to take a trip out in my car and visited so many nurseries and Garden Centres that I could not think where I might have bought my little treasure. We ran the local flower show and were so successful we had to give up three years ago because it got too much for us. While others were happy to show and walk off with prizes they were not so keen to help raise the funds and do all the prep work involved in staging 350 + items. We were proud of what we did and are sorry it has fallen through but one of our group has died aged 94, a second, aged 82 is housebound with cancer, a third, also 82 is in a home with dementia and that leaves two of us. I want to buy some more trilliums and maybe another Erythronium. I have a yellow one, I would like a mauve one. Have you ever walked from Hopeman to Lossiemouth.My grandfather lived in Hopeman and we walked along to Primrose Bay every year.The steep sides of the bay were covered in primroses. I wonder if they are still there? I was born and brought up in the area. so know it well. One aunt lived in the toll house in Forres near Suenos Stone which we noticed has been encased in a glass sheath to protect it from the weather. Another lived in the gamekeepers house at Roseisle. She ran a little shop from the house. Thank you for putting me on the right track.

Yes, Sg, we have walked from Hopeman to Lossiemouth along the top of the cliffs, but not for a while, I am afraid. The primroses were still there in force last time I saw it but the path was getting overgrown with whin bushes in places.
It is a shame about your show and lack of helpers. Mg and myself organise a similar event for the Highland Rock Garden Club in Nairn (plug - 24 April - plug) and are fortunate to have an enthusiastic committee and membership. Our local gardening club has a falling membership and we are finding it increasingly difficult to find enough bodies to man the coffee morning and plant sale. This will soon close unless we can drum up more enthusiastic support.
I can't make any promises but you might find some trilliums or erythroniums at the Aberdeen Show (15 May).

Oh dear I'm sorry to hear the path is becoming overgrown. Is this another result of computer bound children who used to run free. The older children were told to take us younger ones with them when they went out to play. We thought it magic to be allowed to go away for the whole day some times. My big brother carried a swiss army knife and if anybody felt hungry he would hop in to the nearest field and we would picnic on raw neap (swede). We sooked the clover flowers and rubbed our nettle rashed knees with dockens. What a great life. I will definitely get both plants I want at Edrom and Aberdeen is maybe not suitable due to other commitments. Maybe the state of the economy will turn people back to gardening. It is such a soul soothing pastime and there are still plenty of the older generation who can pass on the knowledge passed down through the generations.