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Markinch is a small inland Fife town on the River Leven north-east of Glenrothes, centred on its medieval parish church — whose Norman tower is one of the oldest in Fife — and the former paper-mill and printworks at the Tullis Russell site that provided employment for generations of the community. The Haig whisky distillery at Cameron Bridge, now operating as Diageo's Cameronbridge plant, lies a short distance to the east and has been a defining feature of the local economy since the early nineteenth century. The Howe of Fife around Markinch is some of the best arable ground in Scotland, and the raspberry and soft-fruit fields between Markinch and Ladybank give an unusual and productive midsummer flow from the canes themselves as well as their associated field-margin flora. Oilseed rape on the Howe of Fife farmland gives the April–May early flow; raspberry and soft-fruit in the market-garden fields on the flat valley floor between Markinch and Cupar give a late-June to mid-July flow of considerable commercial value to some apiaries. Sycamore on the older town lane trees and on the riverside provides the early-summer flow; white clover on the improved grassland of the valley floor is the main July source. Lime on the churchyard and parkland plantings gives a June supplement; ivy on the older stone properties closes the year.

Oilseed rape is the defining early Fife flow across the central plain. Raspberry canes on the Howe of Fife add an unusual early-summer crop. Sycamore and lime carry May into June in St Andrews, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Cupar. The Lomond Hills and parts of the north Fife moors give bell and ling heather. Coastal sea-aster and samphire along the East Neuk add seasoning; ivy on old fisher-town gables closes the year.