I don’t have many Heathers and I’ve tried to group them into a bed by height and size. For once the labels on them were pretty correct and I was able to put the biggest ones in the middle and the smaller ones at the edges, but I don’t prune these so they all are getting quite big and wild looking. I like the look myself. It reminds me of seeing the Heathers on the moors in Scotland when I was there in my teens. This shot shows the whole bed from the south with the Metasequoia at the left side and the Ginkgo in the middle and the Heathers in between them all. I’ll show more with other views of the Heathers.
This one shows the Ginkgo Jade Butterflies in the middle of the bed, and also you can see the Carmina Heather on the left and the Irish Heath in the middle, as well as the Kerstin on the right edge and the Allegro in the top middle.
This is a good shot of the Allegro, the biggest one I have. It’s gotten quite large and is as big as the Baby Blue Pisifera Cypress on the end. It’s in full bloom now.
This one shows the whole bed from the North side. You can see the Rockspray cotoneaster on the end and the Little Heath Pieris in the center before the heathers. At the right side is the side of the Elegans Cryptomeria, and on the far left is a glimpse of the Manazanita, with the Veggie garden in the way back part. The tomatoes are Huge!
This one is of the edge of the bed from the South east. You can see the Baby Blue Cypress quite clearly It’s grown a lot in the last couple of years and may eventually get to the 6 ft it’s supposed to do. We’ll see. On the right you can see the path that winds thru the garden to deeper parts of it. Looks intriguing, eh? 🙂
This one shows the one Heath in this bed of Heathers. It’s in the front and is a Kramer’s Rote which is covered in deep ruby red flowers in mid winter when all else is bare here. It’s lush green now setting off the flowers of the rest of them. On its right is a H.E. Beale Heather next to the Little Heath Pieris. You can just see the head sculpture next to it on its right. It’s covered up a lot by the growing together of the plants over the years. You can see a clear picture of it on the “Art” page in the permanent archives part of this blog. It’s pretty cool to have art sprinkled around in the garden. It adds a nice new dimension to it all.
Here’s a shot of the Irish Heath close up. It’s a totally different plant than the other heathers and heaths. It’s a Daboecia cantabrica and has these deep blooms that are the typical bell shape of the Heath Family but much larger than the other heathers and heaths. It was a nice find at a local arboretum sale and has grown well in its tight spot. I keep the other heathers pruned away from it cause it’s so special…
Here you can see the wildness of the Allegro in the foreground and an Echinacea purpurea in the background. It’s next to the Elgans Cryptomeria. The Little Heath Pieris is on the right. The Gingko is on the left.
This final shot shows the Kerstin on the front and the Allegro on the back with the Baby Blue Cypress on the right side edge. You can also see the Ginkgo on the left. And to the right edge is the Sequoia prostrate form I profiled recently. I know this isn’t much of a formal Heather Garden but it’s what I’ve got and l personally love the wildness of it all. I may prune them some this year I dunno but I hate to do it. It’s so interesting to see how big they actually get and if they’ll stay green throughout or lose their inner leaves as they often do when left like this. It’s a gamble I’ll admit but I think it’s a good one.
It’s so delightful to see the many varieties of heater that I have in this small space. They all have a different look to them, some of them even turn color in the winter which is nice. It’ll be a thick bed as it already is and it’s grown so tremendously in the last 5 years it’s hard to imagine it was all so small so recently. Our peaty soil does wonders for plants like this in the Heath Family. They really love it as you can see. It’s rich and full of moisture even on hot days so water is still required but not a lot of it. I’m very happy with this bed of Heathers and others, and hope it continues to grow well in the future. Thanks for taking the time to visit me here and see them!
Hooray for Heathers!
Steve
Posted by Crooked Tracks on August 15, 2014 at 7:30 pm
We don’t have any heathers here so I really enjoyed your tour. Thanks 🙂
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Posted by steven1111 on August 15, 2014 at 7:51 pm
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself!
cheers, 🙂
Steve
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Posted by Sue Dreamwalker on August 17, 2014 at 10:44 am
I love heathers, and love how your garden is blossoming 🙂
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Posted by steven1111 on August 17, 2014 at 8:46 pm
Thank you for your kind words, Sue, and for visiting me. 🙂
Cheers,
Steve
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Posted by janeadamsart on August 19, 2014 at 8:00 pm
Thank you for a fragrant walk in your garden among the heathers. They are vital beings! I like this format of full size picture and text with it.
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Posted by steven1111 on August 22, 2014 at 3:21 pm
Thank you for visiting my garden with me. I’m glad you like the wildness of the heather bed. And I appreciate the feedback about the format. I like it too.
peace,
Steve
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Posted by Robbie on August 20, 2014 at 12:51 pm
I agree I like the wild carefree look:-) You are such an artist:-)
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Posted by steven1111 on August 22, 2014 at 3:23 pm
I like the wild look too. It’s so real and feels less formal than most heather gardens. I dunno if I’m much of an artist. Like I always say – i have great subjects to work with… 🙂
Steve
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Posted by Robbie on September 3, 2014 at 7:13 pm
Hope your doing fine…just stopped by to see what you were doing:-) fall is around the corner…well, almost here!
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Posted by steven1111 on September 6, 2014 at 3:38 pm
Thanks for the visit Robbie. I’ve been pretty sick lately so haven’t been online much. I think I’m getting better so I hope to post again soon. I hope you’re doing well too. Fall is in the air for sure. I see leaves changing already. It’s cool! 🙂
Peace,
Steve
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Posted by Robbie on September 6, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Peace to you too steve…hope you feel better too! Yes, fall is in the air + to be honest I am getting tired and ready for a rest:-)
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Posted by steven1111 on September 17, 2014 at 3:42 pm
Thanks Robbie. I’m doing better but still sick so just not doing much here lately. I’m ready for fall myself. It’s getting nice here. But still in the 80’s this weekend they say…. The last of summer I suppose… 🙂
Take care,
Steve
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Posted by Cynthia Reyes on November 17, 2014 at 7:54 pm
How very lovely!
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Posted by steven1111 on November 17, 2014 at 10:53 pm
Thanks very much for your comment.
All the best,
Steve
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