E. stricta.—Although not so strikingly beautiful as the Heaths previously mentioned, E. stricta is the hardiest of all the taller species. In inclement districts, where a tall Heath is desired, it may be recommended; it grows from 5 to 6 feet high, and is of erect and sturdy growth, with leaves borne in whorls four to six together; they are deep green, and a large mass of plants with their erect plumose branches produces a somewhat unusual effect. E. stricta, like so many Heaths, has a long flowering season; it begins to bloom in June, is at its best in July, but three months later flowers may still be gathered. The flowers are pale purple, and produced in terminal clusters. It has been in cultivation since 1765, and is a native of South-Western Europe; it is occasionally labelled E. ramulosa.
A GROUPING OF HEATHS (Erica mediterranea and vars. alba and hybrida).
E. scoparia.—This species has proved to be the tallest Heath near London, for it has during the last few years grown as high as 9 feet. This gives it a certain distinction, but when regarded as a flower-bearing plant it is, I think, the least worthy of the tribe. The flowers are crowded in the leaf axils in great profusion, but are small and greenish white; the growth of the plant is somewhat straggling and uneven, but it has one merit—viz., it is quite hardy. I have seen its stems split by hard frost on more than one occasion during the last twelve years, but no permanent injury has resulted. It flowers in June, and is a native of the mountainous country to the north of the Mediterranean, especially about Mentone.
The Dwarfer Heaths
The dwarf Heaths can be used quite differently from the more tree-like species that have just been described: as a carpeting beneath sparsely-planted shrubs, for furnishing sloping banks, or for growing on the small terraces of the Rock Garden they are equally useful. And of all these dwarf Heaths more can be said in favour of E. carnea than of any other species. It is not only absolutely hardy, but it flowers with astonishing freedom at a time of year when flowers are particularly cherished. Its flowering, of course, somewhat depends upon the weather, but frequently one may see its bright rosy bells almost as soon as January comes in. By the end of February the entire plant is a mass of beautiful colour, and for two or three months longer they retain their freshness no matter what weather may occur. So free-flowering is this Heath that its flowers literally cover it. E. carnea is one of those plants (and there are many of them) which, although perfectly well known and quite common, are still not used in gardens so freely as they ought to be. The majority of our early-flowering plants bear flowers that are either white or yellow, so that the rosy-red colouring of this Erica makes a welcome change. However freely it might be planted it would never become wearisome or out of place, for its tints, though bright and warm, are not harsh. Statements have been recently published to the effect that E. carnea is a British plant. This idea appears to have originated with Bentham, the botanist, who regarded E. carnea and E. mediterranea as the same species. Following out this idea, he included the plant which has already been alluded to as a form of E. mediterranea, which is found in Western Ireland, in his Flora of Britain as a form of E. carnea. Possibly he was right from the standpoint of the botanist, but the plant grown in gardens and nurseries as E. carnea is quite distinct from E. mediterranea. It is usually not more than 6 to 8 inches high, and is a native of the mountains of Central Europe.
WHITE SCOTCH HEATHER (Erica cinerea alba).
E. cinerea (Scotch Heather).—Over almost the whole of these islands, from the Highlands of Scotland to the moors of Devon and Cornwall, this Heath occurs more or less abundantly. During the late summer and early autumn—it flowers from July onwards—it covers miles of Exmoor with bright-purple colouring, being usually associated with one of the dwarf autumn-flowering Gorses (Ulex Gallii). In gardens it has produced several forms, the two most brilliantly coloured being atrosanguinea and atropurpurea, but all the forms of this Heath are beautiful in colour, ranging from white to crimson. E. carnea loves the cool pure mountain air, and on hot and sandy soil in the Thames Valley is short-lived. At the same time it thrives admirably in gardens where a moist, cool bottom can be provided and where the air is pure. Altogether it makes an admirable succession to E. carnea.
E. ciliaris (Dorset Heath).—Although in smoky and foggy places, such as London, this Heath is not always satisfactory, in the purer air of the surrounding counties it is a delightful shrub. In some of the old oak-bearing country, in Sussex, for instance, it succeeds to perfection. It is a native of Britain, but is, I believe, confined to Cornwall and Dorset in England, and to Galway in Ireland. It has long, slender, prostrate stems, from which spring erect flower-bearing branches; the rich rose-purple flowers are borne in a long raceme, and they are the largest individually of those of all the native Heaths. The leaves are nearly always in threes, and, like all the younger parts of the plant, are covered with hairs and pubescence; it flowers from July onwards.