The British Heather Growers Association garden at the Hampton Court Show designed by Will Quarmby has gained a GOLD MEDAL in the Best Small Gardens section, and also was rewarded as one of the Most Creative gardens at the Show.
Monty Don (in conversation with Alys Fowler, while sitting in the “Heathers in Harmony” garden: transcript from BBC2 tv): “I was walking past here the other day, and stopped in my tracks on this garden. I thought: That’s lovely, because, I thought – it’s heathers – I don’t really like heathers. And I had to reassess, sort of in a second, my whole world view of a whole order of plants and how they could be used, And, d’you know, that’s a gift: you cannot ask for more than that when you go and see a show.”
Chris Beardshaw (also as he was in the “Heathers in Harmony” garden: transcript from BBC2 tv)
“Heathers in a garden may be slightly unusual sight here at Hampton Court. They have been out of fashion for many years, and that is why this green wall of winter-flowering heathers is such a wonderful sight. These are plants which are very adventurous. They don’t mind tumbling over rock-faces and in scree, and so they are perfect candidates for this style of gardening. If vertical gardening is set to revolutionize winter-flowering heathers, then the subtle use of the Daboecia as an edging plant in place of plants like the rosemary, the lavender and the thyme – as long as you have an acid soil rich in organic matter – then why not employ these wonderful candidates to tickle your ankles as you walk through the garden path.”