Gardening HeathersI often find Gardening heathers very interesting. for those of us blessed with both a romantic heart AND a green thumb, it seems almost impossible to contemplate a garden that doesn’t contain heather plants. Indeed, no story of Gothic romance seems complete without a scene in which the lovely growing heather plant makes an appearance somewhere amidst the peat bogs, heaths, and moors of a craggy countryside. Gardening heathers are known to science as Calluna vulgaris and they are native to Europe, particularly the northern reaches of the continent. So beloved is this small perennial shrub that Norway has claimed it as its National Flower. To add a touch of colorful romance to your late summer and autumn gardening heathers come alive with blooms that are predominantly in the purple and mauve color families but some species sport paler colors and others are almost red. Once past their prime, the flowers turn brown but remain on the stem. Collect these for making lovely dried flower arrangements and wreaths. When considering foliage colors for your garden, heathers make fine choices even when not in bloom. Depending upon the variety selected, foliage colors range from almost red to a lovely golden yellow. Some are silvery grey, too, which is a welcome change from an all-green garden. Heathers plants usually grow no higher than about 18 inches and are often used along garden paths and walls.Some gardeners use them as ground covers, too. Heather does grow in any soil types be it high water or low water content the soil should have ph of 4 to 7.5. To keep your healther plant looking healthy, prune only twice ayear around spring and atumn,just trimming the tips. Water healther plants just like any flowers. According to the USDA zones for gardening heathers will grow best in zones 4 through 8. They need well-drained soil that is acidic and they need open areas where they can catch the breeze and sunshine. Deer love feeding on this delicacy so if they present a problem for your gardening heathers may not be the best choice for you. Just too tempting to resist. The red grouse also feeds on heather seeds and young shoots. If raising sheep is on your agenda, however, you may want to include heathers plants in areas where they can easily graze without causing harm to the rest of your garden. Like the deer, sheep love heather, too. So do butterflies. There are several dozen different varieties of butterflies and moths that feed on heather plants. Depending upon where your garden is located, you should attract several varieties of these delicate garden companions as the seasons change. There was a time when any number of garden plants served double duty around the home. Heather is no exception. In fact, its scientific name provides a clue to how it was put to work. The Greek word for the term “to sweep” is calluna, the heather’s generic name. Vulgaris is Latin for “common.” Together, these genus and species names imply, rightfully so, that heather plants were once used for making brooms. Today’s heather beer is made from this plant. In the Middle Ages, heather was a component of gruit, a concoction of flavoring agents used to season beer before the use of hops, which is common today. For those of us blessed with the green thumb but not the interest in tragic and unrequited love, gardening heathers are nice and fun to have around, anyway.
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