Tuesday 21 April 2015

Harlow Carr In April

I thought it would be a little warmer for our visit to Harlow Carr come April, but it was mighty cold on Sunday. I was in two minds as to whether I'd need my coat but I'm glad I took it, I'd have contracted hypothermia without it. I've come to the conclusion that the winds carry a severe chill factor in this area. There's a big difference in the gardens this month though, the trees are starting to green up and there's plenty of colour about.


It's lovely to see lots of blossom on the trees, a wonderful sight.


One of my favourite flowers at this time of year is the snake's head fritillary or Fritillaria meleagris. As well as plants in some of the borders at Harlow Carr, there's whole swathes of them growing amongst the grass, it makes a fabulous display.


There's also crown fritillaries or Fritillaria imperialis in the borders at the moment, I particularly like the yellow variety.


I was surprised to see the rhododendrons flowering so early. This is Rhododendron praevernum which I think may flower a little earlier than some of the other varieties, such beautiful flowers, almost translucent.


The skunk cabbage, or Lysichiton americanum, which I showed in my post last month has grown. It gets its name from the unpleasant odour it emits which attracts pollinators which are attracted to rotten meat, I'm sure this tells you how bad it smells, though I have to say that I didn't notice any scent. I think it's worse if the plant gets injured.


The rockeries are looking wonderful at the moment, lots of spring colour. I do like the little alpines which are planted here.


The daffodils are still flowering their socks off. I was particularly taken with narcissus Actaea.


I do like the stong colours of this one though, I didn't find out its name.


The marsh marigold at the side of the stream is flowering away. My own little pond is a mass of yellow flowers at the moment too.


On to the Kitchen Garden and things are coming to life here.



There's evidence that lots of direct sowing has been done and some seeds have even germinated. These are radish Zlata, a yellow variety with a white interior.


There's still some of last years crops left, the purple sprouting broccoli is still going strong. This variety is Mendocino.


Harlow Carr have a lot of raised beds are their disposal but I'm always pleased to see that space is used wisely. As well as growing carrots in the beds, seeds have also been sown in containers stood at the side of the beds.


Look at this for a space saving idea, I think it looks quite cute too. I should think that most people have somewhere they could put a little strawberry sack.


This information board shows Harlow Carr's crop rotation plans. It's important not to grow the same crop in a bed year after year because it encourages the build up of pests and disease. The easiest way to avoid this is to rotate where each crop is grown. I use a four year rotation plan on my allotment.


The rhubarb bed has certainly filled up since my last visit, it looks as though there's some stems just about ready to pull.


The forcers cover some of the rhubarb plants. Growing the plants in the dark encourages the tender young stems to grow upwards seeking out light. The stems are ready for picking earlier than those which haven't been forced. Some of the stems have grown so long that they've pushed the tops of the forcers right off the pots.


Yorkshire's Rhubarb Crumble and Custard Garden which won a Silver Medal and the People's Choice Award at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2010 is on display at Harlow Carr. It's a take on the classic dish of rhubarb crumble and custard inspired by Yorkshire's Rhubarb Triangle, a nine square mile triangle where rhubarb is grown. The handcrafted chair resembles a spoon.


I noticed a new installation at the side of the kitchen garden, this chicken coop. There weren't any residents but I'm sure it's only a matter of time, I'll keep you posted.


The bed I'm following has put on a lot of growth this month. The startings of many herbaceous perennials are now showing so I'm sure there'll be a big difference in the bed each month from now on.


There was an event on when we visted on Sunday, the Spring Gardening and Wildlife Weekend. There were butterfly walks, outdoor cooking demonstrations and a beekeepers display among other things, and though we missed the birds of prey flying show, we did get to see the birds. This is Olly, a three year old  European Eagle Owl.


This American Kestrel was tiny, about half the size of a European Kestrel.


One of the things I love about Harlow Carr at this time of year is the tulip displays. Though still a little early, some were already blooming but it looked like most are yet to come. This bed will be stunning once all the tulips are flowering.


I like how some displays are done on a big scale, these pots are huge.


Some lovely combinations.


This is the pot I showed in last month's post. The crocus are finished and the daffodils are now flowering with tulips just starting to come through.


Just beautiful.


Stylish.


Elegant.


As you can see, things are really coming on in the gardens now, there's a huge difference between March and April and I expect to see another big difference when we return in May. I keep saying it but let's hope we have some warmer weather for our visit next time.



24 comments:

  1. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. It felt cold here on Sunday with the north-easterly wind.
    I've always found owls such fascinating birds so like the picture of Ollie.
    Daffodils and tulips always look great en masse. Harlow Carr is clearly worth visiting time and again with so much to look at, as well as for the changing seasons. Flighty xx

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    1. We literally stumbled upon the birds of prey, there were a good selection there, about eight or nine birds in total. It would have been nice to have seen the flying display. This time of year when the tulips are blooming is one of my favourite seasons at Harlow Carr, they really seem to get the tulip displays spot on.

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  2. Gorgeous white tulips, and what a spectacular chicken run. It sounds like you had a lovely day, despite the chill. It was freezing here too on Sunday morning. Nice to see everything in the kitchen garden starting to grow, and I love the snakeshead fritillaries as well, beautiful. CJ xx

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    1. Those white tulips were my favourites, absolutely stunning. I think it's the fact that they have quite a bit of green around them which works really well. The chicken run is such a good size, I'm looking forward to seeing some residents move in. The Kitchen Garden is my favourite area of Harlow Carr, I could spend hours there and I'd never get bored, there's so much to see and plenty to take away with you too.

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  3. Lovely post, every where is full of new life.

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    1. There's so much more to see this month than there's been earlier in the year, everything's springing back to life. It's nice to see so much colour around too.

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  4. I used our forced rhubarb at the weekend and it was delicious.

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    1. I'm looking forward to my rhubarb being ready. I haven't forced it but it won't be long now.

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  5. We haven't been to Harlow Carr this year - things keeping us busy and the weather have conspired against many garden visits. You chose a great day to go with the birds of prey there,

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    1. We've had to really set time aside for our visits as we've been quite busy too just recently. There was lots going on at the weekend, as well as the things I've mentioned there were plant sales and lots of information stands about gardening and wildlife, there was even a talk by James Wong, but that cost extra.

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  6. Some wonderful photos there Jo...it may have been cold but at least there was plenty going on in the gardens for you.

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    1. The gardens have come on so much in the last month, definitely worth visiting at this time of year as there's so much to see, and that's without the addition of the gardening and wildlife weekend, that was a bonus.

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  7. Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures Jo I really enjoyed this post especially the tulips, magnificent!

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    1. I think Harlow Carr put on a fabulous display of tulips, I'm looking forward to my visit next month as I'm sure they'll be even better then.

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  8. I'm glad you took your coat, the wind does really add a chill factor.
    How wonderful everything is looking now, I loved that spoon chair and the huge blue pot, also the lovely big terracotta pot with the tulips, I wish I had some huge pots like that!
    The rockery is looking lovely, I hope mine fills out like that one day.
    What beautiful, magnificent birds!!!xxx

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    1. There's really lots to see at Harlow Carr at this time of year, I love how the beds are filling up and there's colour all around, quite different to just a few weeks ago. The birds were beautiful, there were quite a few different breeds, it's a shame we missed the flying display.

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  9. We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful colours in all of our plants.

    Lovely post and photo's including the purple sprouting broccoli - I love broccoli of any colour.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I don't think you can compete with spring colour, so fresh and a delight for the senses after a long winter. I love broccoli too.

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  10. Sounds as if you are guaranteed an interesting day when you visit Harlow Carr Jo. Thanks for sharing it with us. I was wracking my brains to think what the weather was like here on Sunday until I remembered that Liverpool lost their FA Cup game :( Himself was indoors watching but I was out and about in the garden and don't remember feeling cold. I think that we are sometimes a bit sheltered though and Harlow Carr is a good bit further north :)

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    1. There's so much to see whatever time of year you visit Harlow Carr, I hope my monthly posts will demonstrate that. It's quite open where it's situated so the wind seems to rush through it and it can be very chilly indeed.

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  11. So many beautiful hits of colour everywhere...spring is really underway there (even with the cold!). Seems like we will be waiting a long time around here. We were away for the past week and I was hoping to see some good growth when we got back. But it has been so cold here that things have barely changed. I suppose I should probably be thankful for the cool, rainy weather; I had seeded some peas and favas before I left and had the weather been warm and dry, the bed may have dried out. As it stands, I do see some peas just starting to poke through.

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    1. It's a great time of year for colour, the spring bulbs really do give a blast. Everything seems to grow really slowly when it's cold but I'm sure it will soon warm up there and then everything will get going. Glad to hear that your peas have germinated, they don't seem to mind a bit of cold.

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  12. The gardens look wonderful, we have been having a heat wave here for the last ten days, up to 23c, but the nights are still cold with grass frosts. I love birds of prey, we have a centre close to us where they fly the birds twice daily we always take visitors there.

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    1. We've had some lovely weather here too recently, it's a shame when there's a breeze at Harlow Carr as without it, it would be pleasant. We often see birds of prey around here but it's nice to get so close to them, and see many different types too.

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