With Horticus (aka John Paxton)
Erica, Heather & Ling
I love a lassie, a bonnie, bonnie lassie,
She’s as pure as the lily in the dell.
She,s as sweet as the heather, the bonnie bloomin’ heather-
Mary, my Scotch Bluebell.
- Harry Lauder
Anyone who has tramped over the Scottish Peaks, the fells of the rugged north or on the heath lands of the south will have been thrilled by the vast expanses of purple heather receding into the distant hills. When walking along the Pennine Way one of the awe -inspiring sights was Ling Gill, where the path runs along the rim of a gorge and the stream cascades over a chaos of boulders and heather -this must have been named after one of the common names for heather, Ling. This is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Lig meaning fire, and indicates the importance of heather as a fuel.
The botanical name of Ling is: Calluna, which is derived from the Greek word to cleanse, on account of the use of the twigs as brooms. It was the basic raw material of domestic life, being used for building and bedding of stock and humans although from personal experience I prefer heather ale (which is brewed in Glasgow) to a heather mattress.
It supports many birds, including Grouse, in providing shelter and food and many insects, including bees and sometimes whole apiaries are moved on to the moors to collect the delicious nectar which produces a viscous honey in combs Most clumps are purple-flowered but you will occasionally find isolated plants of the rare lucky white heather which is often included in bridal bouquets.
Others heathers are species of Erica. The cross leaved heather is widespread in Scotland, being used as the badge of the Macdonalds and any walker over boggy land would do well to stay close to clumps of Bell heather as it grows on the driest tussocks.
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It is not only illegal but a futile exercise to move these heathers from their natural habitat as they grow on poor, very acid soils with low fertility and do not like the limey soils of this area and if they survived would be scrawny specimens with yellowy leaves. Fortunately, there are Ericas which tolerate limey soils and these are varieties of the species, Erica darleyensis and Erica carnea. The old varieties Springwood Red and Springwood White are two stalwarts but due to increased interest many new varieties have been introduced. These flower in winter and early spring and intermingled with dwarf conifers give colour during the darker days. If the old flower heads are cut back and any straggling shoots are removed in April, you are rewarded with attractive clumps of green shoots during the summer smothering weed growth. They thrive best in sun but will accept semi-shade and although the heathers on the Derbyshire Peak suffered severely from industrial pollution from Manchester and Sheffield they are relatively pollution tolerant.
It was a delight to see the fresh green shoots of my heather garden emerge from a carpet of snow as the thaw started
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