Year-round star

But burning is not something you’d do in the garden because the heather we grow for show is not the same sort of heather which is such an integral part of the landscape of the North York Moors and Pennine hills.

That’s ling, Calluna vulgaris, which, although stunningly colourful and pretty in summer, doesn’t flower in the midst of winter or even in spring, so it’s not a patch on its hardy, all-year-round cousin, Erica carnea, the darling of many a garden.

In its various forms, it can produce flowers year-round – 12 months of continuous colour. Even when it is covered in layers of snow and ice, it will still be blooming beneath its winter coat.

There are some gardeners who grow virtually nothing else; to them, the heather is king, and they cultivate numerous named varieties in beds, borders and containers where they can ensure that the growing medium is ideal for each and every plant. It also means that they can move the pots to follow the sun, because heather loves to be in the sun.

And while the purple Calluna vulgaris hates any trace of lime in the soil, the majority of Erica can tolerate most soils as long as they are relatively well-drained. There are some which can’t grow in lime, but they are more than outnumbered by those which can.

As for colour...there are reds, purples, golds, whites, in fact, just about any hue you fancy. And if you choose with care, you can have some form of heather flowering every month of the year.

And they also come in a variety of heights, from those suited to a rockery, to the mighty tree heath, E arborea, which can top six feet.

To prevent heathers from becoming straggly and bare in the middle, trim them when they have finished flowering – prune to the base of the flower stalks. Not only will this keep the plants compact and tidy, but it will also encourage sideshoots. Then mulch with leaf mould or well-rotted manure.