Erica carnea Winter Heath

A pink-flowered, heather which grows as a dwarf shrub and flowers early in the year, usually at the end of the winter. Unlike other heather it prefers base-rich soils and in its native range of southern and central Europe it is usually found in mountain habitats on calcareous soils, such as in the Dolomites. It has been cultivated in gardens in Britain since the 18th Century and it is only rarely found wild as a garden relic or throw-out. The flowers provide an important food source for early emerging bees and other insects.

Neophyte