Green gardening: the best varieties of heaths

There are about 700 species of heath, a great number from South Africa that are hardy only where winters are frost-free. The hardy species are a mainstay in more northern garden where, by growing named forms of the different species, they will provide flowers for many months.

These are probably the most popular of the heaths because of the bright display they give during winter's drab days.

• D. cantabrica (Irish heath): This flower is native from the West of Ireland to the Azores and is a prostrate to erect shrub, growing about two metres high and wide, with lance-shaped, mid to dark green leaves. Flowers — from white, through pink, to dark purple — appear from summer to fall. Even with good snow cover, it will only survive where winter temperatures do not fall below -20°C (-4°F).
• E. carnea (winter heath): Low-spreading shrubs growing 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches) tall, with dark green leaves that often turn a coppery colour with cold weather. Many varieties have been selected for their colourful foliage of yellow, lime, orange, or copper, others for their flowers, which are carried on one side of the stems and are mostly in shades from white to purplish pink. It is hardy to -30°C (-22°F), and probably colder under reliable snow.
• E. darleyensis (Darley Dale heath): A hybrid that blooms later and grows taller than the winter heath, and is therefore more subject to winter injury. New foliage is often a different colour at first and the flowers are white to rose-pink to red. Hardy to -25°C (-13°F).
• E. erigena (Irish heath): The most tender of the winter-flowering species (hardy to -18°C or -0.4°F), this upright shrub can reach 2.5 metres (eight feet) in height and one metre (three feet) across, with brittle branches. Foliage is dark green to yellow, and the honey-scented flowers are pink.

• E. arborea (tree heath): A tall heath that can reach six metres in ideal conditions. Leaves are dark green and the flowers are a grayish white. The variety alpina is smaller (1.8 metres or six feet)) and has dense spikes of white blooms. These are hardy to only about -10°C (14°F).

• E. ciliaris (Dorset heath): A spreading shrub that grows 60 centimetres (25 inches) tall and wide. Foliage is gray-green and the pink to white flowers, which hardly open, resemble tiny elongated eggs. It is hardy to about −20°C (-4°F).
• E. cinerea (bell heath or bell heather): One of the most widely grown heaths with a large number of named forms that differ in flower and foliage colour. It forms a compact shrub up to 60 centimetres (25 inches) high with very dark green foliage (yellow in some varieties), and has white, pink, or bright red flowers from early summer into fall. Hardy to about -25°C (-13°F).
• E. tetralix (cross-leaved heath): A distinctive heath with woolly, grayish foliage arranged in a cross. Flowers are white to pink, and the old flowers last over winter for added effect. Hardy to -35°C (-31°F).
• E. vagans (Cornish heath): This spreading shrub grows to 75 centimetres (30 inches), with bright green growth, darkening later. Flowers are white to mauve in summer. Hardy to -30°C (-22°F).

Overall, heaths are beautiful flowers that can blossom in harsher climates. Keep this guide in mind and try adding heaths to your outdoor space today!