Cormaic's Garden - Plants - The Heather Bed

Garden Layout - Plants - The Heather Bed
The Heather bed is a small triangle, approximately 1.2m along each edge, where the soil has been mixed 1:1:1 with ericaceous composts and grits to provide optimum growing conditions for the heathers. There is a dwarf conifer, Thuja orientalis aurea nana, trimmed as a 750mm high standard, at the back of the bed, from the sun's point of view, which is underplanted with Arenaria caespitosa. The southerly apex of this triangle is planted with a creeping Thyme Highland Cream, which covers the brick edges and is spreading quite nicely into the adjacent path.
	Winter Chocolate Guinea Gold Arina Nana Compacta Firefly Dr. Ronald Grey Golden Carpet Dainty Bess Bonfire Brilliance
All the heathers are dwarf varieties, to fit the scale of the garden and to cram as many as possible in, and a mixture of summer and winter flowering varieties, along with the fiery winter colours of some of the Callunas, ensure that this small patch has something of interest throughout the year. The heathers are trimmed after flowering, to keep in scale, and to prevent them from becoming too leggy. Occasionally, one of the plants will grow to be too big for the bed, and will need to be moved to another spot, usually into a large pot to stand on the patio, as sunny spots are at a premium. During the summer, they are fed on a fortnightly basis with Miracid®, but are left to their own devices during the winter. The heathers in the bed are...

Calluna vulgaris - Winter Chocolate - A plant of many colours. starts with yellow-green foliage in spring, changing to pinky-red in late summer and chocolate brown in winter. Grows to 300mm high.

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Calluna vulgaris - Golden Carpet - Another prostrate form, with delicious golden-green foliage changing to orangey-red over winter.

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Erica vulgaris - Nana Compacta - a dense heather, only 100mm high with mauve flowers in late summer.

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Calluna vulgaris - Guinea Gold - An upright heather having golden foliage all year round and white flowers in summer. One of the taller varities in this bed, reaching 350mm, if left untrimmed.

Calluna vulgaris - Arina - The tallest of the heathers here, reaching 450mm and therefore tucked in at the back of the bed. The foliage in spring is a gorgeous salmon pink, almost a neon effect, gradually changing through creams, reds and bronzes as the year progresses. It bears mauve flowers in late summer

Erica vulgaris - Firefly - a brilliant, upright plant with deep red flowers in summer, and red-orange foliage in winter and spring.

I've had good succes with layering this plant, and there are one or two of its offspring dotted about the rest of the garden.

Erica mackiana - Dr. Ronald Grey - domed pale green new foliage with white flowers in summer, but getting a bit leggy an bare in the centre, which makes it an ideal candidate for burial and layering. About 150mm high.

Calluna vulgaris - Dainty Bess - prostrate, with grey-green foliage and small white flowers in in late summer. Bought in memory of Mrs Taz's late mother, Bess, who was anything but dainty!

Calluna vulgaris - Bonfire Brilliance - Upright, approx 300mm high. Stunning foliage with bronze foliage in late autumn, turning to gold and then red in winter and early spring.

STOP PRESS + STOP PRESS +

Since the group photo was taken, a new heather, Erica carnea - Golden Starlet, has been squeezed in at the centre of the bed. This is another low-growing variety, with golden-yellow foliage throughout winter and spring, darkening with the summer, and decked with white flowers in late winter.