Caroline and I didn't "collect" the song. We learned it in 1957 from an early recording of the MacPeakes, Francis and Frank. The reason people sing "blooming" rather than "purple" is because that's what the MacPeakes sang, and that is what I sang when I recorded the song for Elektra in 1959. I taught it to Judy Collins when she and I shared an engagement at the Exodus in Denver in the spring of 1960. I remember being surprised when she changed the heather to "purple." I still prefer the MacPeakes' "blooming."
    Sandy