<-------- Title of Page

(o) in front of Page Name or Index Page No in this Main Menu Table indicates that all pages linked to from that cell have content.

SPRING FOLIAGE COLOUR
with Foliage Stalk and Form

Index Page No.

AUTUMN FOLIAGE COLOUR
with Foliage Stalk and Form

Index Page No.

CULTIVAR GROUP with Flowers
Erica Hardy Heaths:-

Index Page No.

CULTIVAR GROUP with Flowers
Erica Hardy Heaths:-

Index Page No.

HEATHER EVERGREEN SHRUB
INDEX GALLERY PAGES

Index Page No.

Site Map

Introduction

Index Page No.

Click on Colour below to change to its Heather Flower Colour Page with Flower and Flower Stalk

Spr-Bronze

1

(o) Aut-Bronze

(o) 1

Erica garforthensis

(o) 1

Erica tetralix

1

CULTIVAR GROUP with Flowers

FLOWERING SEASON
with Flower and Flower Stalk

(o) H0
White

Index Page No.

(o) H1 Amethyst

Index Page No.

H2
Mauve

Index Page No.

(o) Spr-Green

(o) 1

(o) Aut-Green

(o)
1 2

Erica gaudificans

(o) 1

Erica umbellata

1

Andromeda

(o) 1

(o) January
Winter

(o)
1 2

(o) 1

(o) 1

1

Spr-Grey

1

(o) Aut-Grey

(o) 1

(o) Erica x griffithsii

(o) 1

Erica vagans

1

Bruckenthalia spiculifolia changed to
Erica spiculifolia

1

(o)February
Winter

(o)
1 2

(o) H3
Lavender

(o) 1

H4
Lilac

1

H5
Ruby

1

(o) Spr-Orange

(o) 1

Aut-Orange

1

Erica krameri

(o) 1

Erica veitchii

1

(o) Calluna

(o) 1

(o) March
Spring

(o)
1 2

Spr-Red

1

Aut-Red

1

(o) Erica lusitanica

(o) 1

Erica watsonii

1

(o) Daboecia

(o) 1

(o) April
Spring

(o)
1 2

H6
Cerise

1

(o) H7
Rose Pink

(o) 1

(o) H8
Pink

(o) 1

(o) Spr-Yellow

(o) 1

(o) Aut-Yellow

(o) 1

(o) Erica mackayana

(o) 1

Erica williamsii

1

Erica Hardy Heaths:-

(o) May
Spring

(o) 1

(o) Spr-Other Colour

(o) 1

Aut-Other Colour

1

Erica maderensis

(o) 1

Erica x afroeuropea

(o) 1

(o) June
Summer

(o) 1

(o) H9
Beetroot

(o) 1

(o) H10
Purple

(o) 1

(o) H11
Lilac Pink

(o) 1

(o) Erica manipuliflora

(o) 1

Erica andevalensis now treated as Erica mackayana ssp andevalensis

1

(o) July
Summer

(o) 1

SUMMER FOLIAGE COLOUR
with Foliage Stalk and Form

WINTER FOLIAGE COLOUR
with Foliage Stalk and Form

Erica multiflora

1

SEED COLOUR

(o) Erica arborea

(o) 1

(o) August
Summer

(o) 1

(o) H12 Heliotrope

(o) 1

H13 Crimson

1

(o) H14 Magenta

(o) 1

(o) Sum-Bronze

(o) 1

(o) Win-Bronze

(o) 1

(o) Erica
oldenburgensis

(o) 1

Seed

1

(o) Erica x arendsiana

(o) 1

(o) September
Autumn

(o) 1

(o) Sum-Green

(o)
1 2

(o) Win-Green

(o)
1 2

Erica platycodon

1

(o) Erica australis

(o) 1

(o) October
Autumn

(o) 1

H15 Salmon

1

(o) H16
Shell Pink

(o) 1

(o) H17 Multi-Coloured

(o) 1

Sum-Grey

1

Win-Grey

1

Erica scoparia

1

BED PICTURES

(o) Erica azorica
(Syn.
Erica scoparia subsp. azorica)

(o) 1

(o) November
Autumn

(o) 1

Sum-Orange

1

(o) Win-Orange

(o) 1

Erica sicula

1

Garden

1

(o) Erica carnea

(o)
1 2

(o) December
Winter

(o) 1

Sum-Red

1

(o) Win-Red

(o) 1

(o) Erica spiculifolia

(o) 1

(o) Erica ciliaris

(o) 1

Website Structure Explanation and
User Guidelines

(o) Sum-Yellow

(o) 1

(o) Win-Yellow

(o) 1

(o) Erica stuartii

(o) 1

(o) COMMENTS

(o) Erica cinerea

(o) 1

Sum-Other Colour

1

(o) Win-Other Colour

(o) 1

Erica terminalis

1

(o) Erica x darleyensis

(o) 1

The 2 rows of "Height x Spread in inches (cms) (1 inch = 2.5 cms, 12" = 1 foot = 30 cms) and Comment" state the Heather Description from 'Handy Guide to Heathers Descriptions & Suppliers of over 1000 varieties" by David & Anne Small, published in 1992 by Denbeigh Heather Nurseries (ISBN 0-9519160-0-9). This gives the official Heather Society flower colour(s) and foliage colour(s).
Photos from Chris Garnons-Williams are added to that respective flower colour or foliage colour page in the Shrub Heather Gallery and the relevant index page in this gallery IRRESPECTIVE OF THE ACTUAL FLOWER COLOUR OR FOLIAGE COLOUR (stated in the Handy Guide) IN THE IMAGE THAT WAS TAKEN BY CHRIS GARNONS-WILLIAMS.

(o) Erica erigena

(o) 1

End of Main Menu - See Sub-Menu and Data below:-

Fred J. Chapple wrote The Heather Garden, which was published in 1952 and the revised edition in 1960. He had been growing heathers for over 30 years, and was a well-known expert on these plants. His soil chapter:-

"Too many fallacies on this subject have been allowed to spread into the mind of the average gardener; they have on the whole done more harm than good and deterred many cultivating heathers. It has often been assumed and, unfortunately, taken too much for granted, that heathers require special treatment, that they must have peat above everything else, or there should be no lime at all. There are some people who still beleive with all the good faith in the world that they will only grow on the wild moors and that the white kind is to be found nowhere else but Scotland. Whence came these unfounded ideas no one seems to know and as they would appear to belong to the realm of myth, it is time such legends were exploded.

Perhaps it will help to restore the balance of practical thought by making it cear that heathers will grow quite satisfactorily in :-

• Ordinary soil.
• Medium loam.
• Sandy-peaty soil (or peat worked into sandy soil).
• Poor soil with peat added.
• Lightly limed soil (see later notes).
• A open situation.
• Most suburban gardens.
• Country gardens.

Avoid:-

• Rich soil.
• Soil impregnated with lime (see later notes).
• Fresh manure.
• Artificial fertilizers.
• Overhanging trees and shady positions (excepting carnea heaths).

It is better to plant in poor soil than rich. If it is poor, so much the better if you add plenty of granulated peat. Stiff clay, which heathers will not stand at any price, should be dug out to a depth of at least 2 feet (24 inches, 60 cms) and well-broken soil (preferably loam) substituted.

The soil where most of my heathers grow is medium loam, which breaks up well, crumbly to a depth of some 15 inches (38 cms); the subsoil consists of broken clay, sand and stones. It has not taken many year's cultivation to discover the value of these ingredients for the heath family as a whole, whether it be a tall tree such as Erica arborea alpina, or a small heather, Calluna minima. The humus of the loam provides sufficient food for the plants, the clay sufficient moisture, and the sand sufficient drainage. They seem to thrive more in this medium than any other I can think of, the texture of the loam always stimulating strong root action, especially when the plants have been put down for layering. During the abnormal dry period from Easter to Whitsun in 1949 over a 1000 heaths and heathers of all kinds were transplanted as rooted layers in this soil and the losses were very few indeed.

Fibrous loam is undoubtedly an ideal mixture should you be fortunate enough to possess it, but it will be found that heathers grow and respond freely to the soil of the average garden, provided it is reasonably well drained, forked, and made into a friable condition - this tilth, as one would call it, is more important than all the soils put together.

As for peat, the granulated sort (peat-moss litter)) is sold at a reasonable price. The bale is dry when collected and should then be left exposed to the weather in a pit in the garden for a few months before being used. Bought in the autumn, the peat is in excellent condition for the plants in the following spring and it goes a long way.

I do not recommend moorland peat, quite apart from the problem of transport. With the degree of acidity running pretty high, it is not safe to use straight from the moor to the plants, which may easily sicken and turn a yellow colour. After gathering it off the moor, the peat is left in a dry shed for some time, until much of the water is drained away. Plenty of sand is mixed with this sort of peat before using it sparingly. Give me the loam any day.

Peat - the granulated kind - is usually apllied as follows:-

• Heaped round the roots at the time of planting if the soil is on the dry side.
• As a top dressing in the spring.
• For cuttings of the Irish Heath, Daboecia.

The Spring dressing imparts freshness and vigour to the plants - tones them up, so to speak, and improves the foliage. While peat used in this way is beneficial to the heathers, it should be made clear that it is not essential to either their existence or their success; they will grow quite well without it.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT LIME
In garden books and nursery catalogues there still appears the stock phraseology that 'heathers should be grown in lime-free soil.' This hoary statement, which is completely out of date, has done more to prevent people from growing these plants than anything else. It is every bit as fatal to assume, on the contrary - as many, alas, have done - that peat is absolutely necessary to ensure successful cultivation.

When will these outworn theories disappear from common thought?

Because he has limed his plot at some time or other, the gardener takes it forgranted that henceforth no heather plant will grow in it. What an erroneous assumption! The truth of the matter is, after the soil has been sweetened by the influence of lime, it will be in better condition for receiving a colony of heathers. This may seem like heresy to some heather growers, who abhor the presence of lime, which is, after all, a matter of degree. If the soil by nature's provision is impregnated with it to the extent that no lime dressings are required, then it would be advisable to restrict the plants to the

• Tree heaths,
• Erica carnea (formerly Erica mediterranea) varieties,
• Erica terminalis (formerly Erica stricta) and the hybrids
• Erica darleyensis and
• Erica x darleyensis 'George Rendall'.

While these heaths will prosper in calcareous soil, and probably Erica vagans as well, the life of most of the others, particularly the Calluna heathers would be anything but a happy one.

There is, however, a wide difference between soil which is naturally of a calcareous nature and from which lime cannot be completely eradicated and soil of an entirely opposite character that receives an occasional dressing as one of many routine jobs in the garden. In the former soil certain heathers, most of them, in fact, are doubtful of surviving, in the latter they are almost sure to succeed.
Just a note of caution:
where lime has recently been applied, planting should be defered until the soil's condition is improved-

• 6 months later or in the first year; the Tree heaths, Erica carnea, and Erica terminalis may be safely planted;
• after 2 years Erica ciliaris and Erica vagans;
• after 3 years Erica cinerea and Callunas.

One drawback in planting heathers is that many gardens have been so liberally dressed with lime over a period of years, that the beds are full of it. In this case, plenty of peat must be worked into the soil before planting ericaceous subjects.

In the drive for vegetables - during World War II - about 1200 lbs (2.2 lbs = 1000 grammes= 1Kg) of lime were scattered over roughly 300 square yards (1 yard = 36 inches. 1 inch = 25 mm); 3 years later I planted 2 varieties of heather - Erica pyramidalis and Calluna vulgaris 'Minor', as an experiment to see how they responded to the limed soil. Not only did the the plants thrive as though there had been no lime at all but Calluna vulgaris 'Minor' produced nearly a 100 healthy-looking seedlings. Since then, I have not hesitated to plant all kinds and have risked as many as 1500 on that territory. The lime proved beneficial to the loamy soil and the plants were the better for it in the long run.

In some parts of the country the soil is of a light sandy nature, dry and often parched during the warm summer months. Plenty of peat should be worked into the sand, for most heathers grow splendidly when sand and peat are mixed. Throw copious quantities of peat into the hole at the time of planting, see that roots are saturated with it and don't spare the peat all round the plant - the sand will find its own way. Avoid trenching, as this will only bring more sand to the surface and so defeat the good work of the peat.

Another method, which was given to me a long time ago by an experienced nurseryman, and which I have tried so successfully that I gladly pass it on to others, is to dig a fairly large hole, say 2 feet (60 cms), and drop in the bottom a grass sod of substantial size upside down. Spread over the turf a little loose soil, and allow the roots of the heather you are planting to fall into the top mixture. If the soil is on the dry side; water the sod first, and should peat be available (every heather gardener should have a moderate supply of peat handy for use in exceptionally dry weather) work it into the roots at the time of planting. The top layer of soil, not being of a rich nature, will maintain the plant in its natural habit during the early stages of growth; later, the roots will thread their way into the rotting clod which provides fresh sources of food energy. Only with a limited number of plants can this method be adopted, as there would hardly be sufficient sods available for a fairly large garden.

The threading of the fine hairs of the roots into something which makes the operation an easy one is half the secret of successful heather cultivation, and as far as I have been able to make out there is nothing to beat loam, as it decomposes and breaks into fine soil. There are growers who add a little sand and leaf-mould (or peat) to pure loam, but I hardly think this is necessary.

In soil which has been much enriched; heathers grow on at too rapid a pace and there is a tendency for them to become drawn and 'leggy'. Although advice is given that they are best kept away from such substantial fare as manure, it is surprising the number of plants I have seen with this ungainly habit, as the result of acceleration in growth caused by over-feeding.

Such a condition may be partly remedied by clipping over the tops with the secateurs or shearers after the blooms have faded, preferably in the early spring for the summer-flowering heaths and in the early summer for the coming winter and spring ones.

I have referred elsewhere to a railway embankment which was set ablaze and the entire area denuded of all visible growth. The great colony of seedlings which appeared later out of that charred heap produced flowers more pink in shade than the purple common to the type; the spikes, too, were long and packed with bloom. A little heather world was reborn to the light of day out of very poor soil, peat and stones.

This is not to suggest that periodically one should 'fire' the old heaths of a garden in anticipation of a new and healthy family emerging at some future date ( it is doubtful whether any would appear at all) but to provide a simple illustration from Nature's field of activity that special soil is not only unnecessary, but altogether undesirable. All heaths and heathers should be kept neat and tidy, the Calluna vulgaris 'Hammondii's and Calluna vulgaris 'Searlei's never being allowed to grow into gross, tall subjects as we sometimes find them.

Those who have cultivated these plants may ponder awhile on what has been written here on the subject of soil - and I am quite prepared to receive criticism. What it really amounts to is that planting should be done according to common sense, and, without worrying unduly about the soil, the average gardener will probably find his heather doing far better than he imagined at the outset. When they are seen flourishing in places he little dreams of, among gorse and bracken, over rough grass hummocks, and on dry banks, surely they will do equally well in his garden."

Loam

"Loam is soil composed mostly of sand and silt, and a smaller amount of clay (about 40%-40%-20% concentration, respectively). These proportions can vary to a degree, however, and result in different types of loam soils:

• sandy loam,
• silty loam,
• clay loam,
• sandy clay loam,
• silty clay loam, and
• loam.

In the USDA textural classification triangle, the only soil that is not predominantly sand, silt, nor clay is called "loam".
Loam soils generally contain more nutrients, moisture, and humus than sandy soils, have better drainage and infiltration of water and air than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils. The different types of loam soils each have slightly different characteristics, with some draining liquids more efficiently than others.
For food production, a loam soil containing a small amount of organic material is considered ideal. The mineral in a loam soil ideally is about 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay by weight. The soil's texture, especially its ability to retain nutrients and water are crucial." from Wikipedia.

My Soil topic provides other data and diagrams.

Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky.

Ericaceous (lime-hating) plants are plants that don’t like growing in soils that contain lime and so are called ericaceous plants, acid lovers or lime haters. This means they won’t grow well in soils that have a high pH - such soils are referred to as alkaline. Ericaceous plants include rhododendron, camellia, azalea, pieris, summer-flowering heathers (calluna) and even Japanese maples (acer) among others. This also applies to blueberries. If you try growing ericaceous plants in alkaline or limey soils, they produce yellow leaves - a condition known as lime-induced chlorosis, don’t grow or flower well and usually, finally die. The main reason for this is that they need plenty of iron and other soil nutrients that become insoluble or ‘locked up’ in the soil at high pH, so the plants can’t absorb them.

Erica pyramidalis (or the Pyramid Heath) was a species of erica that was endemic to the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It was driven to extinction by the early 20th century, due to habitat destruction from the expanding city.

Calluna vulgaris 'Hammondii' varieties:-

• ‘Hammondii’
  White flowers, VIII–IX; mid-green foliage; vigorous; height 31–45cm; spread 46–60cm. A very old cultivar, but still one of the best.
• 'Hammondii Aureifolia’
  White flowers, VIII–X; light green foliage with yellow shoot-tips in spring and early summer; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm. Keep well pruned for maximum effect.
• ‘Hammondii Rubrifolia’
  Lavender (H3) flowers, VIII–X; red tipped young growth in spring; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm. Keep well pruned.

Calluna vulgaris 'Serlei' varieties:-

• ‘Serlei’
  White flowers, IX–X; dense mid-green foliage; upright; height 61–75cm; spread 61–75cm.
• ‘Serlei Aurea’
  White flowers, IX–X; yellow-green foliage throughout year, with yellow shoot-tips in summer and autumn; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm.
• ‘Serlei Grandiflora’
  Mauve (H2) flowers, IX–XI; mid-green foliage; very vigorous; height 75–100cm; spread 61–75cm.
• ‘Serlei Purpurea’
  Purplish pink flowers, IX–X; dark green foliage; erect compact habit; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm.
• ‘Serlei Rubra’
  Mauve (H2) flowers, IX–X; mid-green foliage; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm. An excellent plant which originated as a sport from ‘Serlei’.

December 2014 -

Mail Order Nurseries in the UK:-

• Holden Clough Nursery
  Established in 1927; the nursery is renowned for growing plants that will grow with you! As the saying goes ‘If it will grow at Holden Clough, then it will grow anywhere' with 6 feet of rainfall per year and record low temperatures, so you really can buy from us with the confidence that we grow proper plants at also proper prices!
  Holden Clough Nursery, Holden, Bolton-by-Bowland, Lancashire. BB7 4PF
  Website: Holden Clough Nursery
• St Bridget Nurseries
  From just an acre of land in 1925, our nursery has grown to about 100 acres made up of land in Old Rydon Lane, Exeter, and Clyst St. Mary. Much of the land is intensively cropped with nursery stock and the remainder is put aside to allow crop rotation of roses, trees and fruit trees.
  Website: St Bridget Nurseries
• Burncoose Nurseries.
  Burncoose Nurseries is one of several businesses forming part of the family run Caerhays Estate managed by Charles Williams. This year the nursery celebrates 30 years at Burncoose. To mark the event the 30 acre woodland garden at Burncoose will be open to the public free for the whole of 2014.
  Website: Burncoose Nuseries
• Norwich Heather and Conifer Centre
  Mr B Hipperson is the owner and proprietor of Norwich Heather and Conifer Centre and he has over 35 years of experience. Norwich Heather and Conifer Centre has over 300 varieties of Conifers and 200 varieties of Heather available.  Plants are grown on site under the expert eye of Mr Hipperson. Any plant can be obtained, even the hard to find varieties, so if there is a specific plant you want, contact us and we will get it for you. We also offer a FREE Conifer Garden Design service, with expert advice from Mr Hipperson himself.
  Mail order is available and 24 hour delivery is posible for most orders.
  Norwich Heather & Conifer Centre, 54a Yarmouth Road, Norwich, Norfolk, England. NR7 0HE. Tel: 01603 439434.
  Website: Norwich Heather & Conifer Centre
  Email: norwichheather@a2znorfolk.com
  Please Note: Emails are collected by Norfolk A2Z and passed on by phone to Mr Hipperson.
Please include your contact Telephone Number in your email.
• Perryhill Nurseriers
  We also stock a range of Heaths and Heathers, they are now very much sold as a looking good item so we do not list the varieties on our website; but can advise what is available if you contact the nursery.
  The nurseries are situated on a hill overlooking Hartfield on the northern edge of the Ashdown Forest. There are also many interesting gardens to visit nearby. A few miles to the north east is  Penshurst Place with formal gardens dating back to the 14th century. To the north is Hever Castle home to Anne Boleyn, featuring magnificent gardens and a lake. To the west is the delightful National Trust garden of Standen overlooking the Sussex Weald. Pashley Manor Gardens at Ticehurst are very interesting and a great place to relax, they have a tulip festival in the spring. Wakehurst Place is also a short drive away at Ardingly, West Sussex. It is run by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has a most interesting collection of plants from around the world. Other National Trust Gardens are at Sheffield Park, known for its collection of azaleas and for its autumn colour and Nymans, at Handcross. Further to the south west are Borde Hill gardens, near Haywards Heath. 
  Website: Perryhill Nurseries
• Triscombe Nurseries
  This former Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden is situated in an idyllic spot nestling at the foot of the beautiful Quantock Hills, for views of the area click here.
  Established as a Nursery in the late 1950's, it is owned and run by the Parkman family who enjoy providing their customers not only with an enormous selection of plants, but also individual attention and expert advice.
  All this is offered in a peaceful rural setting and an atmosphere of time stood still, which will make your visit a most enjoyable experience.
  We offer mail order services to the UK Mainland - All next day delivery by 5.30pm
  Website: Triscombe Nurseries

Mail-order Nursery in Canada:-

• Wilson's Nursery Ltd.
  We are a small family run nursery located in the Fraser Valley about an hour's drive from Vancouver, B.C.  For over 30 years we have specialized in miniature roses and heather and have one of the largest collections of both in Canada.  For the past 15 years we have been supplying gardeners throughout Canada with our plants  by mail order. 
  Website: The Heather Farm

Non Mail-Order Nurseries in the UK:-

• Highland Heathers is a non-mail-order nursery
  This nursery is one of the very few working specialist heather nurseries left in Scotland, it nestles deep in rural Perthshire and only one mile from Comrie village. Browse through the Heather Garden and walk around the working nursery. Over 100 different varities of Heather available for collection by you.
  Website: Highland Heathers.
• Goscote Nurseries is a non-mail-order nursery
  Goscote Nurseries is a well-established plant nursery in Leicester, which offers a wide variety of plants and products. The qualified team at Goscote Nurseries offer free advice on all plants and can design your dream garden with your help. 
  Website: Goscote Nurseries
   

Wholesale Nurseries in the UK:-

• Kingfisher Nursery is a Wholesale Business - not a Retail Business or Mail-Order Business in England
  Kingfisher Nursery is one of the country's leading wholesale heather specialists, producing around 900,000 heathers annually in a range of varieties and pot sizes.
  Website: Kingfisher Nursery
• Forest Edge Nurseries is a Wholesale Business in Dorset, England
  Forest Edge Nurseries developed from my early interest in heathers which began whilst working as an apprentice at a local Dorset nursery in 1979. This interest developed into a hobby collecting and growing heathers in my parents garden, and then grew into the first nursery site in St. Leonards.
  Following the expiration of a 5 year lease a new site was purchased at Woodlands near Verwood in Dorset. Here the nursery has developed into a specialist commercial unit supplying heathers to many of the well known garden centres and nurseries.
  Website: Forest Edge Nurseries
• Benson Nurseries is a Wholesale Business in Lancashire, England, who also have a cash and carry plot on site
  Here at Benson's Nurseries, we have been successfully propagating all our own cuttings  for over 60 years. We specialise in Heather, Leylandii, Pieris,Dwarf Rhododendron,Evergreen Azalea and Dwarf Conifers.Available in a range of sizes 9cm to 5litre pots.
  Website: Benson Nurseries

I sent an email to Highland Heathers on Thursday, December 18, 2014 7:18 AM, and this was their reply on 18 December 2014 14:44:21:-

From: enquiries@highlandheatherlodges.co.uk

Subject: Re: Enquiry from Highland Heather Lodges Website

Date: 18 December 2014 14:44:21 GMT

To: Christopher Garnons-Williams <chris@ivydenegardens.co.uk>

Hi,

We are in the process of revamping our website and any errors are being amended

Regards

John Davidson

HIGHLAND HEATHER LODGES HAS A NO SMOKING AND NO PETS POLICY.

HIGHLAND HEATHER LODGES NOW HAS WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS AVAILABLE IN THEIR LODGES.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Highland Heather Lodges Website" <website@highlandheatherlodges.co.uk>

To: <enquiries@highlandheatherlodges.co.uk>

Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 7:18 AM

Subject: Enquiry from Highland Heather Lodges Website

Name: Chris Garnons-Williams

Email: chris@ivydenegardens.co.uk

Comments: As my hobby, I am creating a small website

www.ivydenegardens.co.uk and you are 1 of the very few mail-order

nurseries left in the UK, I am saddened by your stocklist. If you wish

to put your heathers in types starting with Calluna vulgaris, then do

change the name column in each of the other heather types. please put

the Daboecia before the Erica. Many of the Erica hybrids are actually

Erica darleyensis and should be put into that table. Since I intend to

link to your site if you sell the respective heather, then it might be

better if it was easier to use.

As usual I do not expect a reply, but you never know if at least one

of the nurseries I write to about problems with their sites would both

do something about it and/or be courteous by providing a reply even it

is just "Problem resolved".

-----

No virus found in this message.

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

Version: 2014.0.4794 / Virus Database: 4235/8758 - Release Date: 12/18/14

-----

Further reply received on 7 May 2015 12:19:42:-

HI Chris

We have now updated our web site.

Kind regards

Elaine Davidson

On 28 Apr 2015, at 06:07, Highland Heather Lodges Website <website@highlandheatherlodges.co.uk> wrote:

Name: chris Garnons-Williams

Email: chris@ivydenegardens.co.uk

Comments: When is your stocklist of 2014 going to be updated to the

current one and its table headings corrected? I asked this in December

2014 and you replied that you were updating the website. I know you

close in January-March, but you have now had another month to correct

only 1 page.

---------------

The Stocklist Page on Highland Heathers Comrie stated the following:-

Please call for up-to-date stock

on Friday 8 May 20:42.

Site design and content copyright ©December 2014. Index Page for each Comparison Page of Heather Comparison Gallery created in this Gallery in December 2014. Chris Garnons-Williams.

DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site.
It is possible that the carrier pigeon used in the original link may have died and thus that link currently may no longer be functional. 

Some heathers besides having flowers have foliage colours that change from 1 season to the next season in the UK -

• Spring (March, April, May),
• Summer (June, July, August),
• Autumn (September, October, November) and
• Winter (December, January, February).

The Heather Comparison Gallery provides comparison pages of the:-

• 18 flower colours with flower and flower stalk as shown in the menu table at the top of this page,
• 18 flower colours with flower and flower stalk in each of the months that heather flowers,
• 7 foliage colours with foliage stalk and form per season as shown in the menu table at the top of this page, and
• Each of the Heather Cultivar Groups with flowers

and the Index for the heathers shown in each of these Comparison Pages is in 1 or more Index Pages in the relevant Heather Evergreen Shrub Index Gallery instead of being in the same Comparison page, due to their being too many to include within the available space.
THIS COMBINATION OF FOLIAGE COLOUR CHANGE CAN BE USED IN YOUR GARDEN DESIGN TO AID DIFFERENT GROUNDCOVER FOLIAGE COLOURS IN DIFFERENT SEASONS, together with the months of flower buds before flowering and the post months of seedheads.

Financial Solution to Economic collapse of the United Kingdom

The following are excerpts from Moneyweek of 30 December 2014:-

• "With the rise of UKip, the Greens and the Scottish Nationalists, and of the 2 main parties struggling to get above 30% in the polls, the conventional wisdom is that the UK is heading for a hung parliament at May's general election. But that's not necessarily the case. Under a first-pass-the-post system, hung parliaments are rare. UKip and Green support is too thinly spread to win more than a few seats and most Lib Dem constituencies will fall to whichever of the Labour or Tory candidates best hang on to their core vote. Under those circumstances, whether it'll be a Tory or Labour majority is a toss of a coin. But it will be one or the other, with a solid five-year majority." by Matthew Lynn on Page 15.
   
• "The government Chancellor George Osborne has borrowed more in 4.5 years than Labour did in 13." on Page 39.
   
• "Having read a lot about food banks in the UK recently, I had a look at the benefits system. I took a postcode in southeastern England to see how much you get from the welfare state if you aren't working.
  • I started with a couple and 2 children and added up their housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance, tax credits and child benefit. The result? A tax-free income of £24,269. That's equivalent to an earned income of £32,000 - significantly more than the UK's average wage.
  • Then I looked at the benefits that a single mother with 2 children receives. Her payments amount to an earned income equivalent to almost £32,000.
  • And the benefits of a single unemployed man of working age add up to a tax-free total of £12,300.
    These aren't fortunes, but they don't represent anything like absolute poverty either. Live frugally, stay out of debt, and things should be fine. Not luxurious, but fine.
    So what of the food banks? "They prove we don't pay enough in benefits," you might argue. But they don't prove that. They prove that sometimes the state messes up payments. They prove that people aren't good at managing money. They suggest that not everyone puts rent and food before fags and booze. They confirm that supply creates its own demand. They might prove that some landlords are unscrupulous, or that some families have more financial emergencies than others. And they certainly prove that debt is a big problem: once you are in debt at high interest rates, very few incomes are high enough - £24,000 really isn't.
    But is any of this a good argument for paying more in welfare? Isn't it in fact astonishing to live in a country where the taxpayer (via the state) will pay up for what is effectively a guaranteed income for everyone in the country (just over £12,000 a head , it seems) alongside state-funded education and health care, with very little asked in return? In an age when we are all said to be individualistic and selfish, it seems to me that on the "goodwill to all men" front, it really is quite something." from Merryn Somerset Webb on Page 43.
    
    With that kind of benefit from Britain, I might understand why these illiegal immigrants get onto lorries in Calais to come to Britain rather than hop along the French coast to Portugal with their Social Security system as detailed below.
    The British Government should follow one of these 2 options:-
    • If the british government paid the lowest rent available in the area where those people lived to the landlord direct (the rent balance being provided by the claimant from the £50 a week. This would give these claimants the option of moving to this rented accomodation at the cost that the government would pay), then provided vouchers for food and clothing for the number of people being claimed for and a £50 a week for other expenses to state benefit claimants, then those claimants might look for work instead. If they got into debt, then that £50 a week would be withdrawn. This benefit would last a maximum of 3 years before only food vouchers would then be provided.
      or
    • follow the Social Security System set up in Portugal

What is the United Kingdom National Debt?

"The United Kingdom National Debt is the total quantity of money borrowed by the Government of the United Kingdom at any one time through the issue of securities by the British Treasury and other government agencies.
As of Q1 2013 UK government debt amounted to £1,377 billion, or 88.1% of total GDP, at which time the annual cost of servicing (paying the interest) the public debt amounted to around £43bn, or roughly 3% of GDP. This is roughly the same size as the British defence budget. It was forecast to rise to 96% of total GDP in 2013, further rising to 99% of GDP in 2014. At the end of December 2013, public sector net debt (see government debt) in the UK was £1,254.3 billion or 75.7% of GDP.[1]
Due to the Government's significant budget deficit, the national debt is increasing by approximately £107 billion per annum, or around £2 billion each week.
The British Government's debt is owned by a wide variety of investors, most notably pension funds. These funds are on deposit, mainly in the form of Treasury bonds at the Bank of England. The pension funds, therefore, have an asset which has to be offset by a liability, or a debt, of the government. As of 2011 around 35% of the national debt was owed to overseas governments and investors." from Wikipedia.
This means that interest charged on the National Debt is 43/1377 = 3.122%. So, the deficit of 107 billion each year adds a further interest charge of £3.341 billion or an additional 0.5155% of collected tax will be wasted on paying this each year.
"Total UK government receipts are forecast to be £648.1 billion in 2014-15, or 37.7% of UK GDP. This is equivalent to roughly £12,400 for every adult in the UK, or £10,000 per person.4 Not all of this revenue comes from taxes: taxes as defined in the National Accounts are forecast to raise £606.0 billion in 2014-15, with the remainder provided by surpluses." from A survey of the UK tax system. by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

So the first drain on available funds to pay for state expenditure on The National Health Service, Education or anything else is:-

• Besides the increase in the National Debt, then for the tax year 2014-15 the interest charge of 46.341 billion will need to come out of the forecast revenue of £648.1 billion, which means we loose 7.150% of the tax collected to pay for the overspending racked up by the last Labour government and the current Conservative government; that created more than 75% of the current total National Debt.

The second drain on available funds to pay for state expenditure on The National Health Service, Education or anything else is:-
"The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital. Developed initially by the governments of Australia and the United Kingdom, and used extensively there and in Spain, PFI and its variants have now been adopted in many countries as part of the wider programme of privatisation and financialisation driven by an increased need for accountability and efficiency for public spending. PFI has also been used simply to place a great amount of debt 'off-balance-sheet'.
PFI has been controversial in the UK; the National Audit Office felt in 2003 that it provided good value for money overall. However more recently the Parliamentary Treasury Select Committee found that "PFI should be brought on balance sheet. The Treasury should remove any perverse incentives unrelated to value for money by ensuring that PFI is not used to circumvent departmental budget limits. It should also ask the OBR to include PFI liabilities in future assessments of the fiscal rules." from Wikipedia.
Impact in the United Kingdom:-

• Roads - "On the other hand, Monbiot argues that the specifications of many public infrastructure projects have been distorted to increase their profitability for PFI contractors, specifically:
  A hospital scheme in Coventry was reverse-engineered by health chiefs to attract private capital. The city’s two hospitals were to have been renovated by the public sector for £30m. Instead they were demolished and one was rebuilt for £410m ... Like the hospital in Coventry, the M25 widening scheme appears to been designed to maximise corporate profits. The Campaign for Better Transport points out that if the whole scheme had used existing hard shoulders rather than building new lanes, the total cost would have been £478m – not £5bn."
• The National Health Service (NHS)
  A 2009 study by University College London, studying data at hospitals built since 1995, supports the argument that private-sector providers are more accountable to provide quality services: It showed that hospitals operating under PFI have better patient environment ratings than conventionally funded hospitals of similar age. The PFI hospitals also have higher cleanliness scores than non-PFI hospitals of similar age, according to data collected by the NHS.
  Jonathan Fielden, chair of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee has said that PFI debts are "distorting clinical priorities" and impacting the treatment given to patients. Fielden cited the example of University Hospital Coventry where the NHS Trust was forced to borrow money in order to make the first £54m payment owed to the PFI contractor. He said that the trust was in the ignominious position of struggling for money before the hospital's doors even opened. The trust could not afford to run all the services that it had commissioned, and was having to mothball services and close wards.
  University Hospital Coventry
  The high cost of hospitals built under PFI is forcing service cuts at neighbouring hospitals built with public money. For example, overspending at the PFI-funded Worcestershire Royal Hospital has put a question mark over services at neighbouring hospitals. A Strategic Health Authority paper in 2007 noted debts at two hospitals in south-east London: Princess Royal University Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The paper attributed the debts in part to their high fixed PFI costs, and suggested that the same would soon apply at a third hospital in the area, Lewisham Hospital.
  In 2012 seven NHS trusts were unable to meet the repayments for their private finance schemes and were given £1.5 billion in emergency funding to help them avoid cutting patient services.
  • Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
  • Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
  • North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
  • South London Healthcare NHS Trust
• Peter Dixon, Chairman of University College Hospital, the largest PFI-built hospital in England, has gone on the record to say:
  "We now have indexed payments for the next 35 years which at a time of growing concern over NHS budgets can only be a millstone. It isn't just that our scheme was expensive. Its very existence distorts whatever else needs to happen in this part of London and beyond. And that is before we get to paying for the much larger scheme at Bart's and the London in a few years' time".
  Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was the first to buy out a PFI contract, borrowing £114.2 million from Northumbria County Council in a deal which reduced its costs by £3.5 million per year.".
• Waste "A BBC Radio 4 investigation into PFI noted the case of Balmoral High School in Northern Ireland which cost £17m to build in 2002. In 2007 the decision was made to close the school because of lack of pupils. But the PFI contract is due to run for another 20 years, so the taxpayer will be paying millions of pounds for an unused facility."
• "The debt created by PFI has a significant impact on the finances of public bodies. As of October 2007 the total capital value of PFI contracts signed throughout the UK was £68bn. However, this figure pales into insignificance compared with the commitment of central and local government to pay a further £267bn over the lifetime of these contracts. To give regional examples, the £5.2bn of PFI investment in Scotland up to 2007 has created a public sector cash liability of £22.3bn and the investment of just £618m via PFI in Wales up to 2007 has created a public sector cash liability of £3.3bn. However, these debts are small compared to other public-sector liabilities.
  Annual payments to the private owners of the PFI schemes are due to peak at £10bn in 2017 and are already stretching constricted public sector budgets. Many NHS Trusts are now experiencing serious financial difficulties and, if the level of government spending falls, may become insolvent. In some cases Trusts are having to 'rationalise' spending by closing wards and laying off staff, but they are not allowed to default on their PFI payments: "In September 1997 the government declared that these payments would be legally guaranteed: beds, doctors, nurses and managers could be sacrificed, but not the annual donation to the Fat Cats Protection League". Should certain Trusts fail because they cannot meet their PFI payments, this will provide further opportunities for privatisation if the government brings in private healthcare corporations to run the hospitals instead.

Solution of 5 parts together with a future increase in tax collected by the British Government to create a surplus instead of a deficit:-

• "Quantitative Easing (QE) is an unconventional monetary policy used by a central bank to stimulate an economy when standard monetary policy has become ineffective. A central bank implements quantitative easing by buying specified amounts of financial assets from commercial banks and other private institutions, thus raising the prices of those financial assets and lowering their yield, while simultaneously increasing the monetary base. This differs from the more usual policy of buying or selling short-term government bonds in order to keep interbank interest rates at a specified target value.
  During its QE program, the Bank of England bought gilts from financial institutions, along with a smaller amount of relatively high-quality debt issued by private companies. The banks, insurance companies, and pension funds could then use the money they received for lending or even to buy back more bonds from the bank. Further, the central bank could lend the new money to private banks or buy assets from banks in exchange for currency. These measures have the effect of depressing interest yields on government bonds and similar investments, making it cheaper for business to raise capital. Another side effect is that investors will switch to other investments, such as shares, boosting their price and thus encouraging consumption. QE can reduce interbank overnight interest rates and thereby encourage banks to loan money to higher interest-paying and financially weaker bodies.
  The Bank of England had purchased around £165 billion in assets as of September 2009 and around £175 billion in assets by the end of October 2009. At its meeting in November 2009, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to increase total asset purchases to £200 billion. Most of the assets purchased have been UK government securities (gilts); the Bank has also purchased smaller quantities of high-quality private-sector assets. In December 2010, MPC member Adam Posen called for a £50 billion expansion of the Bank's quantitative easing programme, while his colleague Andrew Sentance has called for an increase in interest rates due to inflation being above the target rate of 2%. In October 2011, the Bank of England announced that it would undertake another round of QE, creating an additional £75 billion. In February 2012 it announced an additional £50 billion. In July 2012 it announced another £50 billion, bringing the total amount to £375 billion. The Bank has said that it will not buy more than 70% of any issue of government debt. This means that at least 30% of any issue of government debt will have to be purchased and held by institutions other than the Bank of England." from Wikipedia.
  If Quantitive Easing paid off the existing National Debt and then either 1) the annual cost of all the current Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funded projects or 2) paid off in total the Private Finance Initiative debt to each private company in the first year, then more than 50% of the annual deficit of £107 billion would no longer occur.
• Following this, the Development Aid provided to developing countries budget of $17.88 billion by the United Kingdom in 2013 could be stopped. 1 United States Dollar = £0.652422, so this would save £11.66530536 billion instead of borrowing that sum to provide as aid to other countries.
• "The cost of fighting and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan has passed £20bn, UK government figures show.
  Of that, £18bn was spent on military operations, on top of the defence budget, while hundreds of millions went on aid and security for UK officials.
  The final cost, which does not include troops' salaries or care for the wounded, is expected to be much higher.
  Critics questioned why the UK was spending so much on conflict when public finances were in a dire state.
  Britain spent at least £9.24bn in Iraq and £11.1bn in Afghanistan between April 2001 and March 2010, the figures show." Not being at war could save more than £2 billion a year.
• If products used on a regular basis in government, NHS or education like A4 lineprinter paper, toilet rolls, soap etc were either 1) bought for all Central Government Departments and Local Government or 2) manufactured by the government; and supplied to those departments, then - because of scale - considerable reductions in cost could be achieved.
• "Quango - Those "non-departmental public bodies" on the Cabinet Office list total 742 across the UK. However, Wales and Scotland have devolved responsibility for some of their own which are not on the list. A pressure group, the Taxpayers' Alliance, claims the figure is actually 1,162.
  And how much do they cost?
  Estimates of the cost vary between £34bn and about £60bn.
  How many are being axed?
  The government reviewed 901 bodies - 679 quangos and 222 other statutory bodies. Of those 192 will be axed or their functions taken over by other bodies. The future of other bodies is still under consideration but 380 will definitely be kept." If the British government carries out this cull, it sounds as if it should get rid of the remainder of the deficit, providing the government then only spends what it gets as taxation instead of borrowing as well each year.
   
• Increase the tax collected by the British Government -
  The Minimum Wage in the UK - "The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers are entitled to by law. It doesn’t matter how small an employer is, they still have to pay the minimum wage.":-
  "John is 27 and works 40 hours a week. He earns £6.35 per hour or £254 a week.
  He pays £15 a week to rent his uniform and the money isn’t refunded. He also chooses to eat in the canteen, and pays £20 per week for his meals.
  To calculate his minimum wage, John’s employer must deduct the uniform rental from the pay but not the money paid for meals.
  This means John makes £239 per week (£254 minus £15) which is £5.98 per hour. This is below the minimum wage rate of £6.31." Example from The National Minimum Wage on the GOV.UK website.
  This means that if John works 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, then his annual salary is £12,428 from which he has to pay National Insurance Contributions and is taxed on the £2000 above the nil tax band, thus making him poorer than the tax-free sum if he was unemployed. If John needs to travel to work on public transport or by foot, then that incurrs a cost. John cannot afford to get married, have kids and work under this Minimum Wage, since he would be better off if he was unemployed.
  John would get more from the government if he was unemployed than working for 40 hours a week.
  If John received £10 an hour for a 40 hour week and worked 52 weeks of the year, his overall salary would be £20,800 and after tax his take-home pay would exceed the benefit paid to an unemployed man, so it would make working pay over receiving state benefit.
  If John had never worked, then it is likely that in Portugal he would not receive any benefit from the state as shown below -

Let us look at the Social Security and Health Benefits in Portugal:-

"Social Security benefits only apply to Portuguese nationals, qualifying European Union nationals, and those legally resident in Portugal as well as their spouses and dependents. Citizens of other countries should seek advice from their Embassy or Consulate regarding obtaining private insurance.

The social security system has three basic schemes:

• 1. A contributory scheme for employed individuals and their families (for sickness, birth/adoption, disability, retirement, unemployment, death, work-related accidents or illness)
• 2. A contributory scheme for self-employed individuals (for birth/adoption, disability, retirement, death; optional coverage for family as well as illness and work-related illness)
• 3. A non-contributory scheme for those who do not meet the minimum income requirements to belong to either of the first two schemes (for disability, retirement, death and family)

All individuals registered for social security coverage are also covered for healthcare in Portugal. Contributions are made by both employer and employee. Employer contributions cover work-related accidents and occupational illness. The Portuguese government pays for healthcare coverage while the employee pays for other benefits including maternity, old-age pensions and disability. Once an individual begins working in Portugal and is registered with social security, they are automatically registered for healthcare coverage. Deductions for coverage are automatically taken from their pay and a healthcare card is issued by the local Ministry of Health. This healthcare card was known as the Livrete de Assistência Médica, is now called the card Cartão do Utente (service user card).
Registration to obtain a social security number is done only once. The number issued is used throughout the holder's life.

To apply for a Social Security Card (Cartão de Segurança Social), contact a local office of the Social Security Institute. The following documents will be required when registering with social security:

• Passport (Passaporte)

• Identity Card (Bilhete de Identidade)

• Portuguese tax number or national insurance number from country of origin (Número de Indentificação Fiscal - NIF)

• Residency Card (Cartão de Residência), or evidence of application

• Proof of address in Portugal (Comprovativo de Morada)

• Employees (Trabalhadores por Conta de Outrem) must complete Form RV1009/2009

• Self-employed workers (Trabalhadores Independentes) must complete Form RV1000/2007 - DGSS

Employees must contact the Social Security Institute within 24 hours of beginning any new job in Portugal. This is to ensure that contributions are properly credited. This can be done via the internet, using Form RV1009-DGSS or in another written form. The notification must include:

• the worker's full name

• date of birth

• nationality

• residence status

• social security number (if the employee has one)

• professional category

• location of workplace

• start date of employment

• name, address, social security and tax number of the employer

• if the employee has never worked in Portugal before, this must be indicated

Employers are also required to report to the Social Security Institute any new worker.

European Union citizens who have made social security contributions elsewhere in the EU may be covered under reciprocal agreements. Contact the Social Security Institute (Instituto da Solidariedade e da Segurança Social) for further information.

Employees pay a percentage of their salary which varies from between 10 and 15 percent per month. The employer matches it with approximately twenty percent. The employer must complete Form RV1009/2009 (the employee should sign it) and it must be turned in to the Social Security Institute.

Self-employed workers currently pay between 25.4 and 32 percent per month, or up to 12 times the minimum national wage determined by the worker. A percentage must be deducted directly from the Green Receipt Book (Caderneta de Recibos Verdes) for each invoice issued. Payments can be made on a monthly basis via the Multibanco ATM system or at the Post Office (Correios de Portugal) and any differences between payments and the final calculation will be reconciled at the end of the tax year.

Social security affiliation is voluntary for self-employed workers whose gross yearly income is less than or equal to six times the national minimum wage, it is mandatory for those self-employed workers who earn more than six times the national minimum wage.

Payments must be made on or before the fourteenth of each calendar month, and can be made via the ATM Multibanco cash points (select Pagamentos ao Estado then Segurança Social and key in the details) or at the Post Office. Payments made after the sixteenth of the month are subject to interest.

Unemployment benefits (subsídio de desemprego)

Employees who are made redundant or involuntarily unemployed are entitled to receive unemployment benefit of 65 percent of their salary for up to 900 days, depending on how long the recipient has contributed to the social security system as well as their age.

It is possible to receive partial unemployment benefit if a part-time job is found.

A Declaration of Unemployment Status (Declaração da Situação de Desemprego) form RP 50440DGSS, must be submitted to a local Employment Centre within 90 days.

Self-employed workers are not entitled to Unemployment Benefit (Subsídio de Desemprego) if their business fails, but if they are unable to work because of serious illness and have paid Social Security contributions they may be entitled to Incapacity Benefit (Invalidez).

There is no system of Income Support in Portugal. Self-employed people are recommended to take out private insurance.

It is a pity that British Politicians in 2015 do not understand that you should only spend what you have rather than spend that and keep borrowing every year with no possibility of repaying that deficit or debt, so Britain is headed for a complete financial and social collapse within 3 years - written 4 January 2015.