Why the palm tree?

Nov 20, 2017

One of the most common questions asked about our branding is, 'is that a palm tree on your shirt?'  Once we reply that it is, we are then asked, 'why?'  We're going to explain the origins of the Balbirnie Home Farms palm tree.

The simple explanation is that the palm tree sits on the family coat of arms and was borrowed for branding the farming business.

This is the Balfour Coat of Arms with the palm tree at the top and the motto at the top which means virtue leads to heaven.  Balbirnie Estate was originally purchased by the Balfour family in 1642 and because of this family tradition, the palm tree was an appropriate logo for the business.

The reason that there is a palm tree at all on the coat of arms is a little more tenuous and relates to the oldest piece of silver at Balbirnie from which the palm tree was stolen in the seventeenth century.  The Mazer bowl was of French sixteenth century workmanship but was subsequently repaired by a Dysart silver smith who applied their mark to the centre of the bowl in the late seventeenth century.  That mark was a palm tree and is now on the coat of arms and the Balbirnie Home Farms branding.