Saturday 17 October 2015

Harlow Carr In October

There's no denying that autumn's here when you step in to the gardens at Harlow Carr, the trees are now clothed in their glowing, fiery colours.


Some trees remain green and the reds, russets and golds show up even more against them.



All around, trees, like my own silver birch at home, are now shedding their leaves.



I don't think any tree looks more magnificent in autumn than the acer, they're such a blaze of colour. I've been promising myself one for a long time but still haven't got round to getting one.



Another plant I've been promising myself longer than I care to remember is an astrantia. Which to get though, a white variety or a pink one. I think I prefer the white.



The gunnera shows no sign of dying back yet, it's amazing how tall this plant grows in just one season.



RHS gardens have a programme of events throughout the year. On this occasion our visit happened to coincide with the Autumn Food and Wood Festival. Celebrating the autumn harvest, there were stalls selling all kinds of food as well as displays and demonstrations.




I'm always fascinated by traditional crafts and enjoyed watching the oak swill basket making demo. I'd have loved one of these beautiful baskets but they were sadly out of my price range.


There are often events in the Bath House when we visit Harlow Carr, this time there was an autumn mushroom display being staged by The Mid Yorkshire Fungus Group. I've never seen so many different types of fungi, all freshly foraged from the region. There were very knowledgeable people on hand to answer any questions or even identify any specimens brought along.




Also being held was an autumn apple display and identification. Two long trestle tables and an extra table in the centre held many different varieties of apples. The appley scent hit you as soon as you got anywhere near.


It's a shame we didn't have the opportunity to taste some of the varieties but I suppose they'd have soon run out with so many visitors.


The Kitchen Garden is still very productive, there's plenty to harvest, though I think there'll be a big change here when we visit again as I'm sure they'll be starting to clear some of the beds now ready for winter.



There's still plenty of apples waiting to be harvested too.


The border I'm following seems to be at its peak, absolutely overflowing with plants. This is a herbaceous border so the plants will soon be dying down and there will be little more than a bare patch through the winter months, as was the case when I first started following its transformation.


The other side of the border has a different look to it.


The asters are giving a new splash of colour to the border. Planting a range of plants which flower at different times ensures that that the border goes on looking good right the way through the year.


I love kniphofia or red hot pokers, they're so striking. This one is past its best now but those fiery colours still remain.


There's still plenty of flowers blooming, even this late in the season.






Do you carve a pumpkin at Halloween? It's a messy job. I found the perfect alternative in the Plant Centre, how about one of these motley crew?


A last look at Harlow Carr in autumn.


I'm sure there'll be a big difference when I visit again next month.

28 comments:

  1. The gardens look lovely, but I love tree's so this time of year is so special. I really like the pottery pumpkins and not too bad a price.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't mind autumn when the days are sunny and dry, it's the soggy days I'm not too keen on, but I agree that the colours at this time of year are fabulous. The pottery pumpkins are quite reasonable I thought, saves having to carve a pumpkin too.

      Delete
  2. Fabulous colours, blooms and foliage. Much as I hate the thought of autumn (and winter) it's undeniably pretty.
    Do Harlow Carr have a plant sale later this month? Rosemoor do and I got some real bargains there last year, most of their plants were half price. You might be able to get an astrantia and an acer!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm a summer girl so I dread autumn coming around, it seems a long time to wait for summer again and winter is just around the corner. I do like the colours of autumn though. I think Harlow Carr have their plant sale in September so I think I've missed the boat for this year. I really must get an astrantia and an acer though, I've been promising myself these treats for far too long.

      Delete
  3. What a nice day out, I would have really enjoyed it, x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've visited Harlow Carr every month this year and I hope to continue this in November and December, it's lovely seeing the changes which each month brings. It's amazing how a garden can differ so much from one month to the next.

      Delete
  4. I love autumn - the changing colours never fail to captivate me. I would have been all over that apple display. When I was choosing apple trees to grow, I had to rely on descriptions of what they tasted like for 2 of them as local stores only sell a handful of varieties - hopefully those descriptions were accurate!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's great when there's events such as this, it really gives you a feel for the plants or trees instead of just reading about them. It's a shame we didn't get to try any apples though but the scent as we approached the display was fabulous.

      Delete
  5. What a fab day out. Once you have Astrantia, you won't be without it. It seeds around like crazy here. Do you want me to send you some seedlings? I have white and deep red.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really enjoying my visits to Harlow Carr. We've been very short on time this year but I've managed to shoehorn one visit each month in. Some visits have been shorter than I'd have liked but at least we've managed to see the changes month on month and it's truly amazing just how quickly some things do change. I would love some astrantia seedlings, that's so generous of you. I do love the white varieties but the deep red sounds fabulous too.

      Delete
  6. Lovely Autumn colours. Looks like a fantastic garden to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a beautiful garden, there's always so much to see. I've visited every month so far this year yet it's still keeping me interested as the changes each month are huge.

      Delete
  7. Autumn colours are certainly beautiful aren't they. And that kitchen garden, I have serious envy! I can't grow astrantia so good luck :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Kitchen Garden is my favourite area of Harlow Carr. They grow such a huge variety of vegetables and they're always in such good shape, it's so inspirational. I've never grown astrantia but they're one of my favourites, great for photographing too.

      Delete
  8. So much colour, I think the colours of Autumn are more spectacular than any other season. That mushroom display is interesting, I would love to learn to forage for them safely ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's the colours that most people look forward to autumn for, as you say, they're spectacular. Even if I learnt more about mushrooms I don't think I'd ever trust myself to forage for them, some deadly ones are very similar to safe ones, it would be just my luck to mix them up.

      Delete
  9. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures showing autumn at it's best.
    White astrantias are on my to grow list as well. The fungi display looks interesting , and shame that you weren't able to taste the apples.
    Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think astrantias are fabulous plants, great to photograph too, I can never resist taking lots of pictures whenever I see them. The fungi display was really interesting, I know very little about this subject but they do fascinate me.

      Delete
  10. Such stunning colours, textures and autumnal delights! Looks like a fabulous day out, great inspiration!

    Katie

    http://long-may-she-rain.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The colours are definitely the upside of autumn and there's lots of colour to be seen at Harlow Carr at the moment, a great day out.

      Delete
  11. The gardens look fantastic with the autumn colours, I have just sown seed for the Kniphia hope they grow OK, I have never been able to get the seeds of my Astrantias going though, I have the pink and a very dark red one,It's almost burgundy coloured.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The gardens really are beautiful at the moment. It's funny how some plants are reluctant to grow from seed, much easier to take cuttings with some things, I'll keep my fingers crossed for your kniphofia.

      Delete
  12. The gardens look so lovely, the colours are majestic. I love this time of year for all the shades that nature gives us. Some lovely photo's Jo and a joy to read, thank you.

    I think those ready made pumpkins were good - carving up 'real' ones is quite difficult isn't it.

    Hope the week ahead is a good one for you.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harlow Carr is a wonderful place to visit at this time of year with all the different colours, just beautiful. I have to admit that I don't carve pumpkins any more, I did when the kids were young but I think these pot ones are a great alternative.

      Delete
  13. Interesting, so many mushrooms and fruits!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The mushroom and apple displays were a great added extra on our visit. I found them both really interesting exhibits.

      Delete
  14. We haven't managed to get there as often as we would have liked to this year. That food gala looks like one to watch out for for next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've been so busy this year but I'm pleased we've set aside a small amount of time each month to visit, it's been great seeing it change each month. It was good to have so many things going on at once on this visit, both the fungi display and the apple display were really interesting.

      Delete

 
!-- Start of StatCounter Code for Blogger / Blogspot -->