Scotland's symbol of heather - a bush of immortality
Many legends about the ancient elves who inhabited Scotland many thousands of years ago, about their ability to make a drink from heather that prolongs life, and romantic stories are associated with heather, as a symbol of Scotland. He is so loved by the people that it was even the family coat of arms of one of the country's communities in the Middle Ages.
Scottish ode to heather
There are no other applicants for the land where heather grows. There are few who want to occupy a sour, dry, burnt-out land plot. For endurance and reliability, nature awarded heather with the ability to get food where there is none.
Each root of the plant is entangled with mycelium, which decomposes and makes available food from the barren land, converts substances into the form necessary for the plant. The mycelium itself feeds on heather juices. A symbiosis without which both species would die.
Heather is praised in Scotland not only for covering the sparse rocky soil with a colored blanket. Its branches were used for weaving baskets, making brooms, creating a roof. Late flowering of heather thickets in the vast expanses of hilly terrain gives the last bribe of the outgoing summer to the bees. Honey is obtained with bitterness, but healing.
Heather flowers are used to brew a hoppy drink ale, which is a traditional product of Scotland. From the same inflorescences, dye was extracted for artisans who weaved textiles, dyed threads in traditional colors and sewed national male Celts and plaids from plaid.
Each front door of the dwelling, even in winter time, was decorated with a basket with non-falling heather flowers on thin twigs. Many Scotland legends, beliefs and rituals are associated with heather - the symbol of Scotland.
Give credit to the plant for the benefits it brings to people:
- unpretentious ground cover shrub;
- honey plant for the last bribe;
- material for folk craft;
- healing properties;
- sacred meaning.
At present, the only Heather Center in the world has been created in Scotland, and there is a beautiful Botanical Garden in it. The shrub of life and longevity, revered in the land of the elves, thanks those who sing it. Nowadays ecological tourism is gaining popularity. And in this country, with a dimensional life and invariable friendliness, they lay routes of relaxation for tourists. The symbol of Scotland, heather helps maintain the country's economic well-being.
Psychologists say that after two weeks of detachment and contemplation of untouched nature, a person returns renewed. Locals believe that their spiritual harmony is guarded by heather. Until now, there are many rituals in which it is this plant that acts as a protector of man in the fight against evil.
Heather in the suburbs
In Central Europe, there are no such open spaces on which a wild heather massif could freely settle. However, heather grows all over the place and is one species.Evergreen heather looks like a branched woody stem, slightly thicker than a pencil. His small leaves are rolled into a tube. The flowers resemble a bell, strung with a brush on a branch. They bloom in the second half of summer and in September. In the densely populated suburbs of Moscow with country estates, cultural forms of shrubs are widespread.
This plant creates a landscape design with stunning landscapes of a heather garden. The cultivars are mostly imported. Therefore, the climate of the Moscow region is not always suitable for travelers. Plants of local propagation take root better. By the way, the plant can be propagated by layering, seeds, dividing the bush... The simplest thing is to take a petiole from a plant you like in the summer, root and grow it in a container, and plant the finished plant in a permanent place in the spring.
It is necessary to plant heather gardens in the climate of the Moscow region with spring plantings, so that the plant develops a root system over the summer and goes into the winter prepared. But to keep the heather compositions from freezing, they should be covered for the winter. Any heather garden cannot grow unless the soil is acidic. He is picky about moderate moisture in the topsoil, so plants should always sit under mulch.
To create a heather flower bed in the Moscow region you will need:
- choose a landing site;
- purchase or grow seedlings on your own;
- create a suitable substrate and prepare the seats;
- plant bushes using technology;
- provide proper care during the summer.
In order not to be mistaken when purchasing seedlings in a store, you need to remember that seedlings remain decorative even with dead roots. Therefore, you should carefully check how alive the buds and the state of the root system are. When planting, do not bury the neck in the ground.
Keeping in mind that the plant loves acidic soil, watering should be done from time to time with the addition of apple cider vinegar to maintain the acidity level of the soil.
Further care heather in the Moscow region consists in the surface loosening of the earth, cleaning of weeds and moderate watering... The garden will thank you with a long flowering, with a dress that leaves in winter. The compositions created will require shaping after three years of growth.
Heather has almost no diseases and pests. However, with excessive moisture or excessive fertilization, gray rot can occur. There may also be a viral disease, characterized by spots on the leaves and a drooping crown. Such plants should be removed immediately so as not to infect others.