Since Victorian times, Heather has been an ornamental plant in gardens and containers.
Combining plants of different flowering seasons with colorful foliage forms creates a tapestry of changing colors throughout the year. The Heather Garden highlights the versatility of heather to preserve colour in the garden year round. Heathers enjoy growing in full sun in moist but well drained soil. By removing faded flowers and applying a generous mulch of composted bark, heathers will continue to thrive year after year.
Calluna vulgaris
The true Scotch heather is a single genus and species with hundreds of cultivars. It is native to Europe and Asia Minor. It bears tiny, needle like, dark or light green, grey or yellow leaves and spikes of bell-shaped flowers. Garden types range from dwarf ground cover and rock garden sorts only a couple of inches high to plants reaching 3 feet tall. Blossom colors include white, pale-to-deep pink, lavender, and purple.
They flower mid- to late summer, and a few continue on into late fall. Handsome foliage pale and deeper greens, chartreuse, yellow, gray, or russet often changes color in winter. Many will produce brilliant spring tip colour, white, red, orange, and yellow before the pigment of chlorophyll masks this first colour of spring.
Erica species and Daboecia species
The heather garden here at HCP becomes a stunning show of colour starting in December and continues into mid-spring. The Genus Erica carnea and Erica X darleyensis show off as mounds of white, purple, lavender, pink, and chartreuse. Tree forms such as Erica arborea and Erica canaliculata present a stunning display of colour and fragrance.
Other Ericas such as E. cinerea, E. tetalix and E. vagans come into bloom June to August. Daboecia sp. form distinct bell like flowers over the entire summer.
