Calluna vulgaris Aurelia - Heather

Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Aurelia' is a summer heather from the prolific Garden Girls series, which offers cultivars whose flower buds remain closed, ensuring a long-lasting flowering period that is resistant to bad weather. Since the flowers are unpollinated, they have an extended lifespan. 'Aurelia' is characterized by its beautiful golden foliage, adorned with white-coloured flower buds that illuminate the autumn season with their bright light, contrasting with the warm colours of the season. Plant it in a rockery, as a border plant, or in a pretty pot on the terrace, in acidic and well-drained soil or substrate.

Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Aurelia' belongs to the Ericaceae family. Its ancestor, the common heather, the only species in the Calluna genus, constitutes the dominant vegetation in inhospitable heathlands in the cold regions of the UK and Northern Europe. 'Aurelia' is an evergreen shrub that forms small, compact bushes with a wide and upright habit, reaching about 40cm in height and 60cm in width after 3 years of cultivation. Decorative throughout the year thanks to its beautiful evergreen foliage, this cultivar blooms from early September until December. Its flower buds are arranged in upright and flexible spikes. The green-yellow to golden colouration of its foliage is very bright. It is a melliferous plant, used in beekeeping due to the high sugar content of its nectar. Heather honey is characterized by its gelatinous texture and dark colour.

The 'Aurelia' Garden Girls Summer Heather is a light and refined plant, suitable for any acidic, fresh to dry soil, in full sun or partial shade. It brings elegance to wild areas of the garden as well as low-maintenance or weekend gardens. Stunning when planted in mass with other species and varieties, it also pairs beautifully with dwarf asters and small ornamental grasses, in a rockery, on a slope, or in an informal border. In an ericaceous soil bed, it can be planted at the base of witch hazels, Pieris, or Skimmia japonica. On the terrace or balcony, it fills pots and containers for autumnal floral compositions of small perennials and bulbs.

Calluna vulgaris can withstand moderate grazing. It represents an important food source for sheep and deer when vegetation is covered by snow. It is capable of regenerating after fire. In the past, this plant was considered magical and used in white magic rituals; it was believed to have protective powers, as in the Breton heathlands, where it is said to ward off ghostly spirits. Heather was also an ingredient in gruit, an aromatic composition used in brewing beer before the use of hops in the Middle Ages. Its flowering tops have long been used in herbal medicine due to their reputation for "dissolving stones in the bladder."