syrinx

Scottish heather by the Sailor's Memorial makes a beautiful carpet in late summer. (Photo taken Aug. 17,'06.) The origins of the heather - whether deliberately planted or brought in inadvertently by soldiers camped in the park - are controversial; Janet Kitz and Gary Castle devote a whole chapter to the topic in Point Pleasant Park: An Illustrated History (Pleasant Point Publishing, 1999). Heather is native to Europe and is reported as invasive of native communities in New Zealand, but not in North America. It would not be considered invasive in this large bed in an otherwise mowed, open area but may be moderately so elsewhere in the Park.