A5 long 12pp Brochure HEATHER GARDEN

the
Heather
collection
Riverside Park, Perth
Welcome
to our
Fair
City

Welcome to the
Fair City of Perth
Our unique Heather Collection is located in
Riverside Park, on the east bank of the River
Tay in the heart of the City. You can enjoy it on
its own, or as part of a circular walking tour of
Perth’s Public Art Trail.
The heather collection is adjacent to Rodney
Gardens on Dundee Road; the car park is
signposted ‘Rodney Fitness Centre’. See centre
pages for more detailed directions.
Background
The Heather Collection
is part of the
‘Riverside Project’,
being run jointly
by Perth & Kinross
Council Community
Greenspace and local
environmental charity
Beautiful Perth. The
project is very grateful
to The Gannochy Trust
for its support.
Work on the heather
garden began in
2012 with the aim of
planting over 20,000
heathers from more
than 500 different
varieties. The project
has transformed the
Bellwood area of
Riverside Park into a
heather garden with
year-round interest
and colour, enjoyed by
locals, visitors and a
wide variety of wildlife.
Heather in culture
Heather is an iconic Scottish plant, which thrives
on the poorer soils of our upland areas and
creates the ‘bonnie purple heather’ that covers
mountain sides across the country, especially
in August and September. It is core to Scottish
culture, having been used for centuries for roof
thatching, bedding, dying, path construction and
medicines, as well as for foodstuffs like whisky,
honey and even heather ale.

Spring
Snowdrops are harbingers of Spring in Riverside
Park, followed by crocuses and then daffodils,
which burst into colour across the grassy areas.
Many of the trees come into blossom providing
clouds of beautiful pink and white colour along
the path network.
The historic Kinnoull graveyard next to the
heather beds is worth a visit. It contains many
17th and 18th century gravestones including
of ferrymen who worked the River Tay crossing
between 1621 and 1772. The graveyard is the
final resting place of Effie Gray (1828-1897), wife
of Victorian critic John Ruskin, who later went on
to marry his protégé, Pre-Rafaelite artist John
Everett Millais.
Heather Highlights (see centre pages for map of heather beds)
Look out for Tree Heather Erica arborea which
has lovely white scented flowers in May. Also
this is a good season to see Calluna vulgaris
“Caerketton White“ - the earliest white flowering
heather (bed 11).
Heather in legend
In folklore, white heather is said to bring good
luck. One legend tells of Malvina, a Scottish
maiden betrothed to a warrior called Oscar. The
news of his death in battle was brought to her
by a messenger who delivered a sprig of purple
heather that Oscar had sent as a token of his
undying love.
Her tears fell onto the heather and turned its
flowers white. This magical transformation
prompted her to say: “Although it is the symbol
of my sorrow, may white heather bring good
fortune to all that find it.”

Summer
During the summer months Riverside Park
boasts a wide range of colourful flowers, shrubs
and wildflowers. In Rodney Gardens, adjacent
to the heather garden, the Riverside Project
is recreating the original 1990s plan for the
semi-circular flower beds in front of the Rodney
Pavilion.
Heather Highlights (see centre pages for map of heather beds)
From July to September, Erica cinera “Pallas”
has purple flowers on pale green foliage (bed 5).
Calluna vulgaris “Bonfire Brilliance” is another
lovely plant, with mauve flowers in August and
September. Its foliage is bronze in summer
turning fiery red in winter (bed 11).
Art trail
‘Millais’ Viewpoint’ is an art installation by Tim
Shutter. Carved from St Bees sandstone, it
represents a favourite view of artist John Everett
Millais who had strong family links with Perth. His
wife Effie Gray is buried in Kinnoull graveyard.
Heather in history
At the Skara Brae ancient settlement in Orkney,
archaeologists discovered beds made from stone
slabs and lined with heather, dating from as far
back as 2000BC. In later centuries buildings in
the Highlands had walls made from stone, with
‘heather and daub’ – a combination of heather
and mud or clay, with cavities filled by heather
divots. Heather also provided a basis for Scottish
tartans; natural dyes made from heather were
used to create the colours of wool and cloth used
for clothing.

PLAN OF HEATHER GARDEN
15
14
12
13
9
11
8
10
7
HOW TO GET HERE
• On foot from Tay Street – cross the Queen’s Bridge
and go through the ‘Rodney Gardens’ archway at
the end of the bridge; walk straight ahead past the
Rodney Fitness Centre and through the gateway to
the car park. The heather collection is on your right.
• On foot from Bridgend/Scone – follow Dundee Road
to the Isle of Skye Hotel. The ‘Rodney Gardens’
archway (as above) is at the top of the bridge
opposite the hotel.
• By bike: see national cycle route 77 ‘Salmon Run
Pitlochry – Dundee’.
• By train: The heather collection is 1.4 km (0.9 miles)
from Perth station.
• By bus: local Stagecoach bus services nos 16 and
54 stop near the entrance to the Rodney Fitness
Centre car park.
• By road: off the A85 Perth – Dundee. The postcode
for satnav is PH2 7AA

DUNDEE ROAD
ENTRANCE
1
4
3
2
6
5
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you want to discover more specialist
information abut the heather collection, Perth
& Kinross Council’s Community Greenspace
team is developing a website that will include a
full list of the species and varieties of heather
included in the collection.
We will add a link to this site on our website
www.beautifulperth.org when it is is available.
The Heather Society holds a great deal of
fascinating and useful information about
heaths and heathers in Scotland, the UK and
the rest of the world www.heathersociety.org
The numbers on the above plan relate to the
15 heather beds in the collection. We refer to
these beds in the ‘Heather highlights’ sections
of this leaflet.

Autumn
The heather garden glows with colour in the
Autumn, Wordsworth’s ‘season of mists and
mellow fruitfulness’. Red berries appear on trees
like the Rowan (mountain ash) and the leaves
turn from green to a glorious mix of yellows,
oranges and browns. The days get shorter but
the light creates long shadows and there can be
spectacular sunsets.
Heather Highlights (see centre pages for map of heather beds)
In the autumn months, right up until November,
look out for Erica tetralix “Tina” which has pale
purple flowers with green foliage (bed 5). Also
Daboecia x scotia “Goscote”, which provides
gorgeous colour with its beetroot red flowers and
its foliage of dark green with silver underneath.
Art trail
‘Outwith, Within, Seed, Leaf and Bud’ is an art
installation by David Wilson. Three sculptures
in Riverside Park (one in the heather garden),
suggest why people like to visit the park and
gardens for peace, quiet and contemplation.
Heather in the environment
Heather supports a huge range of biodiversity,
including mammals like red and roe deer,
mountain and brown hares. The Scottish wild
cat was also known as the ‘heather cat’ in times
gone by. Red grouse feed on heather shoots,
which is why patches of heather moorland are
burned in rotation to stimulate new growth.
Birds of prey such as the golden eagle, buzzard,
peregrine falcon, merlin, hen harrier and shorteared
owl can all be found on Scotland’s heather
moorland.

Winter
Winter’s short and colder days may limit time
available for enjoying visits to the heather garden
but it can still be very beautiful. Autumn colours
persist into the winter months and by February
the snowdrops start to appear. If there’s snow, it
is a true winter wonderland.
The willow tree that grows beside the water
cascades in the heather garden has become one
of the most photographed locations in Perth.
Even in winter when the leaves have gone, its
graceful shape provides a beautiful focus in the
heart of the heather garden.
Heather Highlights (see centre pages for map of heather beds)
Beds 3 and 4 are known as the ‘girls’ beds
because these recently bred varieties are named
after girls. For example, Calluna Luisa has flower
buds from September to January that are pink to
violet. The foliage is dark green with new growth
coming in bright green. Calluna Helena has white
flower buds from September to December, and
light green foliage. Both are in bed 4.
They are also known as “bud bloomers” - their
flowering tips do not fully open. They retain their
colour for an extended period but they cannot be
pollinated.
From December to March, Erica darleyensis
provides colour and interest. Darleyensis is
popular with gardeners as they give height and
strong colour for a third of the year.
Heather in produce
Heather supports bees and many other
pollinating insects and has long been used
in traditional Scottish produce. For example,
the distinctive taste of heather honey is much
sought after and the Blackface Sheep Breeders
Association is pushing to have pure-bred
‘blackface lamb from the heather’ officially
recognised as one of Scotland’s gourmet tastes.
It is said that heather was used in peat fires at
the Highland Park distillery on Orkney to dry the
malt and contribute to the distinctive flavour of
Highland Park whisky.

PRODUCED BY BEAUTIFUL PERTH
Registered Scottish charity number SC032395
www.beautifulperth.org
(c) Beautiful Perth
Design by www.LightPressDesign.co.uk
Photography – www.pkperspective.co.uk,
Beautiful Perth, and others.
Many thanks to…
Plus all of our hard working volunteers, who give freely
of their time, skills and energies to help make Perth a
beautiful place to live, work and visit.