2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
When you hear the word "Heather", your imagination is drawn to the small Pictish people who lived in the north of Scotland. They brewed a heather drink that was "sweeter than honey" and intoxicated more than wine. The recipe for the drink was passed from father to son, preventing the neighboring peoples from producing anything similar to it, and left the people with the last breath of the last Pict. So the legend says
Heather honey
For many of us, the patriotism of the Picts sunk into our souls when, in literature class, we read the legend of "Heather Honey", written by Robert Louis Stevenson, translated by Samuel Marshak.
In my life it was more than half a century ago, but I still see a boy tied tightly to a huge stone, thrown from a cliff into the cold waters of the sea, and as if I hear his shrill cry. And a staunch old man, the last representative of the Pictish, who brewed an amazing drink that helped to live happily and gave strength to fight for a place under the meager northern sun.
The old man passed away without revealing the secret of making a wonderful drink to the ruthless Scots. These uncomplicated, even in some places clumsy lines of translation, gave birth to tears in the eyes and strengthened the patriotic mood of such malleable and gentle children's souls.
Today I understand that no "most sacred drink" is worth the life of a person or a whole community. Unfortunately, the spirit of such patriotism is tenacious and continues to "clean up" the territories of our planet.
But this is just a legend. Historians believe that not all the Pictish people were exterminated, but in the 9th century they simply assimilated among the Scottish conquerors. So it looks nicer, and the recipe, most likely, has long been adopted by brewers in Europe. It’s not for nothing that they say that beer is no less hoppy than vodka.
Description
The evergreen heather shrub comes in various heights. It ranges from 10 to 70 centimeters. Dark brown bark covers thin stems.
The scaly small leaves are similar to the second layer of the bark. They cover all shrub shoots with their dark green plates. In winter, the leaves change their color, becoming reddish-purple.
During the flowering period, the heather bush turns into one lilac-pink spot-inflorescence: this is how the side shoots are abundantly covered with small bell-shaped flowers. Heather blooms in July-September, giving people a heady aroma and happiness.
Growing
The resistance of heather to the treacherous climate, which does not frighten him with either wind or frost, has turned the plant into a symbol of life. Where heather settled, people willingly set up their settlements.
This modest man does not need rich soils, only he does not like excess calcium and calcareous soils, preferring acidity at 4, 5-5, 5 pH. Therefore, when planting heather, high-moor red peat is introduced into the soil, and the trunk circle is mulched with peat.
Grows in open areas and in partial shade. He does not like stagnant water, but he likes wet soil. For the winter, it is advisable to bring the peat thickness of mulch to 10 centimeters, and cover the bushes on top with spruce branches.
You can propagate by seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush.
The best varieties
• "Allegro" - differs in carmine-red flowers on bushes up to 60 centimeters high.
• "Alporti" - flowers with color from red to purple on bushes 60-70 centimeters high with dark green leaves.
• "C. W. Nix" - lilac-pink flowers on tall bushes.
Use in the garden
Dwarf heather varieties are good for alpine slides and rocky gardens.
From higher plants, hedges are arranged, dividing the site into functional zones.
During flowering, the heather bush is a separate flowering carpet, a kind of "flower spot" that stands out against the background of trees, tall shrubs, large stones or against the background of a green lawn.
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