Heather Day, Perth, Scotland

Join us for an opportunity to hear from some of the custodians from National Plant Collections of Erica carnea, Cassiope & Daboecia with a visit to Riverside Park, Perth.

Refreshments and light lunch included.

Agenda for the day:

From 9am: Registration and refreshments

9.30am: Welcome and Introduction to Plant Heritage. 

10.10am: 'Holehird, Heathers and Daboecia'

Brenda Leese

Dr Brenda Leese has been interested in plants since she was very young. She completed degrees in botany and plant biochemistry, and later a BTEC in horticulture. After a career in health services research and a move to Windermere, she joined the Lakeland Horticultural  Society at Holehird Gardens as a member of the heather team.  In 2014 she set up, and now manages, the National Collection of Daboecia at Holehird.  In addition, she has published two books about women who have had plants named after them.

Holehird Gardens is managed by the Lakeland Horticultural Society and hosts 5 National Plant Collections in addition to Daboecia.

10.40am: 'Cassiope, A National Collection at Branklyn Garden'

Alistair Chalmers

Alistair studied horticulture to degree level and also has an MSc in Plant Taxonomy and Diversity. After spending 10 years in industry, he taught horticulture in Northumberland where he also ran a garden maintenance and consultancy business. He subsequently moved back to Scotland to work for the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) at Branklyn Garden. Finally, he was a manager for the Plants Project in the NTS which involved identifying and cataloguing all the plants in NTS gardens. 

Branklyn Garden is an enchanting 2 acre hillside garden managed by The National Trust for Scotland and hosts 2 National Plant Plants collections of Meconopsis and Cassiope.  

11.10am: 'Collaborative Research and Conservation of Threatened Heathers'

A pre-recorded presentation followed by live Q&A.

Michael David Pirie - Associate Professor in Botany and scientific curator of the Arboretum at the University of Bergen.

Michael's research background is in systematic botany, with a PhD in taxonomy and evolution of Neotropical Annonaceae at Utrecht in 2005, followed by postdoctoral research in Zurich and at Stellenbosch in South Africa’s Western Cape from 2008, where he started research on the genus Erica. He then spent several years at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz before moving to Bergen in 2019. He combines systematic research and ex situ conservation of threatened species as coordinator of Botanic Gardens Conservation International’s ‘Global Conservation Consortium for Erica'.

11.40am: Late morning tea break

12.00pm: 'The Heather Landscape at RHS Wisley: Inspiration and Challenges'

Eli Sutton, National Collection Custodian for Erica, Calluna and Daboecia at RHS Wisley

Eli’s Wisley journey began in 2023 as a student, completing a year-long Professional Work Placement with the ‘Welcome and Riverside’ team of horticulturists, before joining this team in September 2024 as the sole horticulturist for the Heather Landscape. Eli brings together her passions for wildlife, nature recovery and ornamental horticulture to manage the Heather Landscape with a strong commitment to conservation and sustainability, and she embraces the challenge of safeguarding the collection in the face of an increasingly unpredictable climate.

RHS Wisley which hosts National Plant Collections of Calluna vulgaris, Daboecia & Erica is home to a further 16 national Plant Collections. Wisley has had a good collection of heathers since the 1920s when then-Director Frank Chittenden planted the Heath Garden on Seven Acres. In 1987 the collection was given National Plant Collection status and was relocated to Howard’s Field. Now it has been revitalised once more and around 25,000 heathers, including 900 cultivars - 162 of which are considered endangered - appear in the Heather Landscape.

12.30pm: 'Beautiful Perth National Collection of Erica carnea in Riverside Park Perth'

Dr T.A. Lowdon  

Tom Lowdon was a teacher of mathematics for 42 years at Perth High School and the Harris Academy in Dundee, retiring in 2011. He immediately joined the charity Beautiful Perth and became closely involved with the planting of the heather gardens at Riverside, Perth and in their subsequent development. Along with Barbara Macdonald, he helped promote and set up the National Collection of Erica carnea in 2022. 

Riverside Park, managed by Beautiful Perth is home to an extensive collection of heathers.

1.00pm: Lunch

2.00pm: Guided Tours of Riverside Garden

4.00pm: Q&A, Wrap up and Farewell

5.00pm Finish

Booking open for Plant Heritage members and affiliated interest groups.

Limited places available.