Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls Helena - Heather

Calluna vulgaris 'Helena' is a summer heather from the prolific Garden Girls series, which offers cultivars with closed flower buds for a long-lasting, weather-resistant flowering. Since the flowers are not pollinated, they have an extended lifespan. 'Helena' is characterised by beautiful, bright green foliage that carries white flower buds. Apart from the difference in foliage colour, it distinguishes itself from the variety 'Alicia' by having a later but more enduring flowering season.

Calluna vulgaris 'Helena' belongs to the Ericaceae family. Its ancestor, the common heather, is the only species of the genus Calluna. In its natural habitat, it is the dominant vegetation of barren heathlands in the cold regions of the United Kingdom and Northern Europe. 'Helena' is an evergreen shrub that forms small, bushy plants with a wide and upright habit, reaching approximately 40cm (16in) in height and width after 4 to 5 years of cultivation. Decorative throughout the year thanks to its beautiful evergreen foliage, this cultivar blooms from early September to December. Its flower buds are arranged in upright and flexible spikes. The spring green colour of its foliage is very bright. Its nectar contains a high sugar content, making this honey-bearing plant invaluable in beekeeping. Heather honey is characterised by its gelatinous texture and dark colour.

The Garden Girls 'Helena' summer heather is a light and refined plant that thrives in any acidic, moist to dry soil, in full sun or partial shade. Plant it in rockeries, along borders, or in a beautiful pot on a patio. It brings elegance to wild areas of the garden as well as to weekend or low-maintenance gardens. Stunning when planted en masse with other species and varieties, it pairs nicely with dwarf asters and small grasses in rockeries, banks, or informal borders. In ericaceous beds, it can be planted at the base of witch hazels, pieris, or Skimmia japonica. Plant it in pots and containers on a patio or balcony to create autumnal floral compositions with small perennials and bulbs.

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