Winter colour

It has to be said that the display of heathers here at Harlow Carr Gardens does make you question why these little plants ever fell out of favour. The mass of colour produced throughout the year has been stunning to see as you enter the garden. Over the last three years the beds have been rejuvenated through extension and replanting.

Heathers are hardy, evergreen, easy to grow, long lasting and relatively inexpensive to buy. The use of different species to provide transitional colour throughout the year has to be amongst their greatest strength. With so many favourable characteristics it is no surprise to see heather beds popping up providing splashes across many gardens and in containers.

There are approximately 24 species of heathers which grow in Europe. The two favourite species grown in this country are Erica carnea and Erica x darleyensis, these are both lime tolerant so will thrive in almost any garden. Ericas flower in winter or spring, they range in colours from white, pink through to red producing the most gorgeous carpet of colour. A favourite includes Erica carnea aureifolia ‘Foxhollow’ with its lime green leaves and white flowers.

Callunas, another species of heather is slightly less full-proof, needing acid soil and they are also tender so need the right conditions and care. However one advantage of Callunas is their characteristic for autumn flowering, C. vulgaris ‘Silver Knight’ with its long spikes of cream flowers on grey silver stems brings gorgeous contrasting colour between spring and winter flowering Ericas. These can be seen the Acer beds here in the garden below the entrance steps.

Cultivation is easy, they need well drained soil. Heathers prefer full sun, dappled shade will be tolerated but do not be tempted to plant in full shade under thick tree cover as the plants will become leggy and not thrive. Just think how many trees you see on our local heather covered moorsides.

Pruning of heathers is something that I can say I knew little about and found quite a daunting task, unsure whether sheering over them once they had finished flowering was the right thing to do. A volunteer from our local group of the Heather society came to give us some tips and reassurance.

You can see that through the growing season each individual heather plant produces at least one longer leader stem. This needs to be cut back to the height of the main shrub and the rest of the dead flowering stems trimmed back, reasonably lightly, removing spent flowers. The new flower buds form early so will have already formed at the base of old flowering stems, you will be able to see these at the base so go steadily. We used secateurs at first but moved to sheers once we gained confidence and it really was that easy.

The improvement of the heathers through gentle pruning in bushing out and knitting individual plants together is clear as the beds below the Entrance steps to the garden continue to thrive bringing colour in the coming winter months.

Jobs To Do In November

* Clear fallen leaves from lawns and ponds

* Plant tulip bulbs for displays next year

* Plant out winter bedding

* Put bird food out to encourage winter birds in the garden

With thanks to Amy Smethurst, Horticulturist at RHS Garden Harlow Carr

DIARY DATES

Friday 4 November: Free Day Friday

Visit RHS Garden Harlow Carr for free and enjoy the garden in all its autumnal glory.

1 – 27 November: Bath House Gallery – Christmas Crafts Showcase If you’re looking for unusual presents that you can’t find on the high street, pop down to Harlow Carr’s Bath House Gallery for a Christmas gift with a difference – from jewellery, scarves and hand bags to children’s baking kits and Christmas decorations. Normal garden admission.

November - March: Winter Walk 10-Year Anniversary Harlow Carr celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its Winter Walk this year. To mark the occasion, 5,000 irises have been planted and will bloom as the garden moves into early spring. Adorned with daphnes, witch hazels, birch trees and maples, the striking stem colours and variety of forms, textures and scents make this a must-see from November through until March. Normal garden admission.