Society News archive

A group of botanists, including Dr Ana Kuppler and other members of The Heather Society, have just published a paper (online) reporting recent investigations of Erica lusitanica: see the Spring Bulletin for their request for assistance with obtaining samples of wild heathers throughout Europe, western Asia and north Africa. (For the abstract and full paper click here)

Many congratulations to Molly Hall in getting her article on a Diary of propagating an unusual heather: Erica cinerea ‘Molly Rose’ published. Molly was 12 when she wrote the article, making her the youngest person to get an article published in the Heather Society Yearbook. Click the cultivar Erica cinerea ‘Molly Rose’ , which was registered in 2014, to get a full description. You can read her article by clicking here.

Join The Heather Society at this event and receive a “Free Heather 6-Pack worth £9.99” (Membership only £20).

Reduced Entre Fee to this event for existing members

The RHS have offered Society members, who are not RHS members, a reduced entry ticket of £8 on the Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st on presentation of their THS (2015) members handbook

Back-issues of the Society’s yearbooks, from 1963 up to and including Heathers 7 (2010), are now available on Biodiversity Heritage Library

The Heather Society gratefully acknowledges the co-operation of the Librarian and library staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in scanning the issues and preparing the content for Biodiversity Heritage Library.

This means that the Society’s principal publication – Yearbook of The Heather Society (all parts of volumes 1, 2 and 3, and all ten issues of the new series 1994-2003) and Heathers volumes 1-7 (2004-2010) – containing dozens of articles and descriptions of many new species, inter-specific hybrids and cultivars (in the supplements to the International register of heather names), can be read and searched electronically, free of charge.

According to plans released on the internet, among the show gardens, one – Homebase in association with the Alzheimer Society – includes a “heather-clad arbour provides somewhere to shelter, cook together as a family and enjoy views of the garden.” We are advised that the roof is covered with Calluna vulgaris ‘Forest Fire’ supplied by Forest Edge Nursery.

Another garden of interest is the “Welcome to Yorkshire” garden which will feature a “hawthorn tree – removed from the Brimham Rocks site as part of the National Trust’s conservation programme” – Brimham Rocks was a location that Society members visited during the annual gathering in 2013.

Lastly, Alan Titchmarsh has created a garden to celebrate 50 years of Britain in Bloom: “We planted woodlanders and wild flowers, cabbage palms that towered over our beach hut – to be painted in a fetching shade of pale green and cream – and spires of echiums and foxgloves, carpets of heather and rugs of samphire to reflect our own love of the British countryside and the folk who tend it so passionately.”

Heathers 11 has been distributed to all members, with the Spring 2014 Bulletin.

Heathers 10 has been distributed to all members, with the Spring 2013 Bulletin.

The Garden Media Guild’s awards announced on 29 November included the award of Reference Book of the Year to Hardy heathers from the northern hemisphere by Dr Charles Nelson. The judges’ comments were: ‘Given the vast library of horticultural reference works, it is an almighty challenge to produce one that adds something new while remaining accessible and yet attractive to handle and read. The winner stood out as indisputably important in covering a group of plants that are much loved by gardeners, whilst being an authoritative work of reference that will maintain its relevance for years to come.’

Hardy heathers from the northern hemisphere was published in December 2011 by Kew Publishing.