There are six species of heather native to the UK. All begin to flower at different stages of summer but will overlap with each other around mid-late August through to mid-September. This period where all the heather is in bloom truly transforms our landscape into a blazing carpet of colour.

The pink flowers of cross-leaved heath appear first in June and flower through to September. The bell-shaped flowers cluster along branched stems adorned with whorls of four leaves that give the plant its name.

Next up is bell heather with its dark purple-pink, bell-shaped flowers appearing in July through to September. Bell heather is similar to cross-leaved heath, but its flowers are smaller and cluster all over. It is possibly our most famous heather, making up the bulk of the pink-purple carpet we see.

Last to flower is common heather, also known as ‘ling’. It has loosely arranged pink flowers that grow upon tough, wiry stems. Common heather grows tightly packed together and can live to over 40 years.

However, the seas of stunning colour are not just a treat to our eyes, they are also a treat for important pollinators and other wildlife. Heather provides a vital nectar source for honeybees, buff-tailed and red-tailed bumblebees, ruby tiger moths and other bees, butterflies and moths. The honey produced from bees that feed on heather is dark and fragrant and often very popular.

Heather’s abundance of nectar makes it an ideal plant for the garden too. It is as low maintenance as they come and will bring your garden to life with the buzzing of nectar-loving bees and insects.

One of the best places to see heather locally is the New Forest, the acidic soil of its heathlands and moorlands make it ideal for heather to thrive. The open heathland and woodland found at Hook Common and Bartley Heath Nature Reserve, near Hook, provides important habitats for a variety of native plants, and cross-leaved heath and ling heather can be found here in abundance.