Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls Pink Angie - Heather

Calluna vulgaris 'Pink Angie' is a summer heather from the prolific Garden Girls series. It is a new variation of Angie'. It bears a unique flowering in elegant soft pink closed flower buds on evergreen foliage of a vibrant and soft green. Unpollinated and unaffected by bad weather, the buds illuminate and soften the flamboyant autumn colours, with flowering starting in September or early October, and lasting until Christmas. Plant it in rockeries, on the edge of flower beds, or in a pretty pot on a patio, in acidic and well-drained soil or substrate.

Calluna vulgaris Garden Girls® 'Pink Angie' 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. 'Pink Angie' is an evergreen shrub that forms small tufted bushes, with a wide and upright habit, reaching about 50cm (20in) in height and width after 3 to 4 years of cultivation. Decorative all year round thanks to its beautiful evergreen foliage, this cultivar blooms from September to December. Its flower buds are arranged in upright and flexible spikes. 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 'Pink Angie' summer heather is a light and refined plant, which can be planted in any acidic, moist to dry soil, in full sun or partial shade. 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 in autumn and small grasses, in rockeries, on banks, or in informal borders. In an ericaceous soil bed, 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".