Thursday 5 November 2015

Harlow Carr In November

I was expecting to see a big diffference when we visited Harlow Carr this month and I wasn't wrong, there's no mistaking that this is Harlow Carr in autumn. There's some beautiful colour amongst the trees at the moment.



Some trees are becoming quite naked having dropped most, if not all, of their leaves.



The wire teapot which is used as a leaf bin is nearly full, I'm not surprised considering the many trees in the grounds, they must make an awful lot of leaf mould.


By the side of the tea leaf bin, the Verbena bonariensis is still flowering away.


Even though we visited in November, there were still a few Halloween decorations around, or perhaps they're just seasonal decorations.


The gunnera is now looking very sad having been flattened. It's amazing to think the bed will probably be clear again next month and yet once they come to life again next year, the plants will grow to the same dizzy heights in just one season. Their flowers are still apparent though.



The pampas grass or Cortaderra selloana is looking good at the moment.


I love how the sunshine catches the plumes. We were so lucky to visit when we had blue skies, there haven't been many of them yet this month, we've been having lots of mist and fog here.


There's lots of berries around, the birds are going to be well fed this winter.


The Kitchen Garden is still very productive, however, some of the beds have now been cleared.



There are lots of flowers still blooming in the Kitchen Garden, the nemophila was literally buzzing with bees.


Runner beans are coming to an end.


I don't reckon much to these Longbow leeks, they're rather spindly.


It's a good job they've got some thicker ones to fall back on.


The apples have now been harvested but there's crab apples aplenty.


The squash bed has been cleared and it's now planted up with wallflowers. I'm sure they'll look fabulous once they're blooming next year.


The bed I'm following is a mass of seed heads now, the plants are starting to die off and there's very little colour left.


I think this rudbeckia sums up most of the flowering plants quite well at the moment, trying to hang on in there but past their best.


The garden still has much to offer though, the colours to be found are fabulous. Just one more month of the year to go now, I wonder how the garden will look come December.

30 comments:

  1. Magnificent. The colours are fabulous and the kitchen garden looks very neat. We went to Rosemoor at the weekend and that is looking colourful too. They've started to chop the gunnera leaves off and then pile them over the top of the crown to form a pyramid and protect it over winter.

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    1. There's definitely interest in this garden the whole year round. I'd love to visit one of the other RHS gardens to see both the similarities and the differences. I wonder if they'll do the same thing with the gunnera at Harlow Carr, I don't remember seeing any protection over them at the beginning of this year.

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  2. It looks like you picked a good date for your visit. Those leeaks make me feel not quite as bad about how small ours are too. I wonder if we will have an influx of waxwings this year I still haven't managed to see one.

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    1. We visited on Sunday, the 1st of the month. It was very misty here when we set off but there wasn't any sign of it in Harrogate, in fact, I was wearing a fleece but it was so warm that I ended up taking it off and walking round in short sleeves. I shouldn't really mention the spindly leeks, they've done better than mine have as I never got round to planting mine out again this year.

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  3. With each passing year I am loving ornamental grasses more and more. We have a patch (that is in desperate need of division) within view of our kitchen window and I just had to stop to watch it sway in the breeze for several moments the other day.

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    1. Grasses are something I've never grown but I do recognise the hypnotic rhythm of them swaying in the breeze. They're so tactile too, I can't pass by without reaching out and giving the plumes a gentle stroke.

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  4. It does look beautiful in its autumn gown.
    I have tried many times to keep Gunnera in the garden. One lasted three years. Although I protect them in the winter they just seem to disappear.
    The garden is in a frost pocket so that obviously is the probably.....plus the high water table.

    The kitchen garden still looks great and seems productive. I would love a walled garden to grow vegetables and keep those pesky rabbits out :)

    Love the teapot full of leaves, what a charming idea.............

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    1. I don't really know much about gunnera, I didn't realise it would need protection over winter, I have to admit that it looks as tough as old boots. I think many of us would love a walled garden to grow our fruit and veggies, every gardeners dream. The teapot is right by the side of Betty's Tea House, quite apt.

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  5. Places like this do look so much nicer when the sun shines. I'm not surprised to see that some of their Leeks are spindly. I think it is a bad year for Leeks. All 3 of my varieties are spindly, that's for sure!

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    1. I agree, we were really lucky with the weather on this visit as we've had nothing but mist or fog ever since. I wouldn't mind spindly leeks this year, better than none at all which is precisely what I've got, I never got round to planting mine out again.

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  6. Love the tea leaf bin, I want one......

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    1. It's brilliant, isn't it? A great way to collect all those leaves.

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  7. I think you did so well to visit when the skies were so blue. It's been quite misty and wet at times this week, and certainly not good Bonfire weather for any fireworks this evening!

    But back to your visit I love all the photo's but especially the pampas grass against that blue sky - just lovely.

    Has it been a bad year for leeks this year? I know friends and fellow bloggers have said they do not seem to have done so well this year.

    I do like the teapot full of leaves ...

    Enjoy the rest of your week.

    All the best Jan

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    1. We've had the same weather here, I think we made the right choice visiting when we did. It's been a bad year for leeks in my garden as I never got round to planting them out so I'm without again this year, the same thing happened last year. Never mind, there's always next year.

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  8. It looks as though you may have picked the best day of the month weather-wise to visit. Lovely photos.
    It's surprising to see nemophila flowering like that at this time of year. Flighty xx

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    1. It's definitely been the best day of the month so far, I'm glad we went when we did. There were so many flowers still going strong in the Kitchen Garden, the bees were spoilt for choice.

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  9. Absolutely gorgeous. Makes me miss home though. Currently on the extremely dry (read: drought-ridden) west coast and I'm originally from North Carolina.

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    1. You must see a huge difference in the weather conditions now to what they were like at home. We don't have such extreme differences in the UK but it's usually a little colder up here in the north to what it's like down south.

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  10. So pretty!!! Pumpkins seem to be okay as decorations all the way up 'til Thanksgiving...basically people exchange them for Christmas decorations!

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    1. I think that's what's beginning to happen here now, though of course we don't have Thanksgiving. You can get some wonderful pumpkins though, so decorative so why not show them off.

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  11. Love that teapot bin, so much better than our dull square bin, still they both do the same job.
    Some of our leaks are fine, started eating them last week, the other ones are still thin, maybe they will come on if this lovely weather continues.

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    1. There's lots of fun things around the gardens, there was a bear leaf bin at one point, I'm not sure if that's still there. I love leeks so I'm disappointed that I didn't get round to planting mine out, never mind, there's always the greengrocers.

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  12. Those mature trees in Harlow Carr look beautiful. You chose a good day to visit and those crab apples and berries are positively glowing. The kitchen garden looks very neat and tidy. Although we haven't had blue skies this week I still take pleasure is seeing the contrast between the last few golden leaves on trees against the dark branches knowing that the fallen leaves will make great leaf mould.

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    1. The trees are glorious at the moment, such gorgeous colours. I always love looking at the Kitchen Garden at Harlow Carr, it's always so neat and tidy and very productive. They certainly make the most of each bed.

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  13. That leaf bin is fantastic isn't it! They certainly have a lot of great colour don't they! xx

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    1. The leaf bin is a great idea, if you're going to collect leaves to make leaf mould you might as well do it in style. There's some fabulous colour around at the moment.

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  14. It looks as if you had a fabulous day for your visit Jo. I like the leaf basket. We could do with a similar creation here. It would look much more attractive than a collection of black bin bags.

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    1. It was definitely the best day of the month so far, we were really lucky as it was foggy as we set off. I think the leaf bin is fab, I'd like one of those too.

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  15. What wonderful weather to visit! Again, so many interesting things to see. I am MOST inspired by the tea leaf bin, what a marvelous idea....now...how do we make one eh???xxx

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    1. We did so well with the weather, I'm glad we visited when we did as it's gone downhill since then. I think we definitely need instructions on how to make a tea leaf bin, there's quite a few of us coveting that.

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