Alys Fowler: heather

It is time to rescue heather from the pile of naff plants. True, a whole bed of swirling pinks and purples is a little too much, but refine the palette and you have one very useful plant.

There is a heather in flower for every month of the year. I am not suggesting you plant one for each, but something that gamely flowers from December to April is worth celebrating, particularly if you are an early-to-emerge foraging bee, such as our common Colletes, a native solitary species that relies heavily on the presence of heather pollen.

Erica carnea is one of the hardiest of all heathers and is tolerant of poor soil. Many of its cultivars are low-growing, making it a useful ground-cover plant. I am revamping my front garden with a muted pink-and-white theme and intend to use ericas to hold together the bottom layer of planting. Bulbs can pop up in between, and the heather will offer spring colour followed by a mat of green in summer, when other taller herbaceous perennials will shine.

E. carnea's mat-forming habit means it is good at suppressing weeds (and works well on banks or slopes). Trim every couple of years to keep plants in shape: do this once flowering finishes towards the end of May. Trim off old flower spikes with shears; vigorous cultivars should be trimmed back hard to stop the middle of the plant going bare.

These tough plants are not bothered by exposed sites and, unlike many heathers, don't need acidic conditions; in fact, they tolerate lime and slugs – their spiky leaves are unappealing. They do need good light and won't be pleased if planted around the base of a tree or large shrub. One of the most well-known varieties of E. carnea is 'Springwood White', a vigorous form that flowers from December to the beginning of May.

E. erigena is a more upright form, but will also tolerate non-acidic soil. Its flowers have a delicious, honey scent, but it is much taller, growing up to 60cm. The cultivars tend to be rather shocking pinks and purples, but E. erigena f. alba 'WT Rackliff' has white flowers from February to June. E. x darleyensis, a cross between E. carnea and E. erigena, is also tolerant of most soils but at up to 60cm high is a little taller in stature. One of the more compact cultivars, 'Ada S Collings', grows to 20cm high and has pure white flowers from December to May.

Plant all ericas deep, so the foliage sits on the surface of the soil, and water in well until established. After that, there's little to do but enjoy watching the bees visit.