On Sunday, 18 March 2012 18:48:47 UTC, Pendrag0n wrote:
Hello all,

I have seen a few local gardens with decent heathers that seem to
flower all year, if you can call them flowers, sort of mauve, purple,
white etc. Probably up to about 50cm. Any ideas on what I should get
to plant and forget, hopefully quick growing. Along the side of the
house etc.

Not much of a gardener as is quite apparent

TIA

PS: The soil round here seem to retain the water for ages. I pinched
some of the farmers field for a couple of pot plants and they never
seem to dry!! Whereas the composty stuff I had before needed watering
every few days. It's not clay.

If they're in flower now they are mostly tolerant of some lime in the soil so if you see them on sale in flower in local garden centres it's safe to buy and plant them without too much worry, though you'd do well to add plenty of peat and grit to open up and improve the drainage of the soil - very few heathers (Erica tetralix) tolerate perpetual wet and none like heavy soil. All like to be out in the open with the wind in their hair.

if you want a bed with almost continuous colour and interest spend some time and money, make a deep very peaty bed and plant a range of erica and calluna varieties - if you can go to a specialist nursery and see the staggering range of habits, colours and flowering times - there are also several that are grown for spectacular foliage colour. Try to make a loose patchy arrangement of winter/spring and summer/autumn types rather than mixing them salt and pepper fashion.
If I get time I'll try to come back with a link to photos of our little heather bed here. It's roughly kidney shaped about 5m max length and 2.5m wide, now starting it's 3rd growing season the winter/spring flowering plants and spring foliage plants are at their best and the clipped over summer/autumn ones are starting into fresh new growth.
My secret's out - I quite like heathers.

Rod