Sunday 14 June 2015

Harlow Carr In June

The forecast this weekend was for lots of rain so I wasn't surprised when I was woken in the early hours of yesterday morning by a downpour. By the time we got up the rain had stopped so we decided to chance it and head off for our monthly visit to Harlow Carr. I'm glad we did as it was lovely and warm and the sun actually put in an appearance. There wasn't any further rain yesterday but it looks as though it's in for the day today.

Harlow Carr is looking very green and lush just now. Everything has grown so much since we last visited and this is the scene which greets you as you enter the gardens.


One area we hadn't visited yet was the Montague Burton Teaching Garden so we rectified that on this visit.


The garden is used for both school and adult education and covers a range of topics. The outdoor classroom areas are wonderful, I just love the large wooden chair.



There's a large greenhouse, coldframes and a wildlife pond as well as raised beds containing a number of different plants.



As we left the Teaching Garden we continued on the same path and came to a small lake. The wildflower planting around the edges must attract lots of wildlife.



There's some beautiful planting along the stream at this time of year, candelabra primroses and hostas make fabulous partners here.


As I've mentioned previously in my posts about Harlow Carr, there are lots of willow sculptures dotted around the gardens. I've never come across this fish leaping out of the stream before though.


I had to wonder who needs a spade this big. Just imagine how quickly I'd have my allotment dug over with that.


Do you remember the bare patches at the side of the stream in my previous posts where I said the gunnera would spring in to growth? Here it is now, not a bare patch in sight any longer. Once it gets going it develops at an amazing speed.


Isn't this acer stunning? I've been promising myself one for a number of years now and it's still on my wish list.


There's lots of irises blooming at the moment.




On to the Kitchen Garden and as you can see, there's been plenty of growth here too during the last month. The beds are filling up fast.



There's some beautifully trained fruit trees, this one's a conference pear.


It looks as though they're going to have plenty of fruit this year, there's lots of apples developing.


The rhubarb bed looks different again, there's still plenty of stalks to pull but it's a tangle with other plants.


I've developed more of an interest in herbs over the last year or two, the herb bed here is flourishing. I want to have a closer look at it next time I visit.


The chicken coop which was empty a couple of months ago now has residents. They've got a good space to scratch around in.



There's six chickens in total, Poppy and Rosemary are the Silver Laced Wyandottes, Dandelion and Sorrel are the Crested Cream Legbars, Angelica is the Blue Laced Wyandotte and the Golden Laced Wyandotte is Saffron.


There's been a tremendous amount of growth in the bed I'm following. Being filled with herbaceous perennials, there isn't much to see at the beginning of the year but that's certainly changed now.



I'm not sure what this lilac flower is but it's blooming away just now. I suppose the look of this bed will change all the time as more and more plants begin to flower.


Lady's Mantle hanging on to a few droplets of rain from earlier in the day.


I think this is Knautia. Can you see the tiny spider clinging on to the underneath?


There's a whole bed of these beautiful alliums, they're such wonderful subjects to photograph, though I can't make up my mind if I prefer a single bloom where each tiny star flower can be distinguished or if I prefer to see them en masse. How about you?



If you're planning a trip to Harlow Carr I can thoroughly recommend it at this time of year, as this post shows, there's so much to see.

30 comments:

  1. The candelabra primulas are magnificent there when they are all in bloom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're stunning at the moment, running all alongside the stream. There's something new to see every time we visit.

      Delete
  2. I am really enjoying your visits through the year to Harlow Carr, it is great to see how it changes as the months go by. That teaching garden is great isn't it, it must be a wonderful place to have a lesson or talk of any kind. As for alliums, I love to look at them up close and see the individual small flowers, and to look at them en masse in a flower border. I need to plant so more this autumn to get that effect! I hope that you get your acer someday as they are beautiful aren't they! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's lots of changes each time we visit. The teaching garden is wonderful, the RHS does such a lot for education so it's quite fitting that they have a dedicated space like this. My alliums have disappeared this year so I shall be buying more to plant this autumn too.

      Delete
  3. Hi Jo,

    Beautiful post......love the wildflowers by the lake edge, so pretty. If only........

    I could do with that spade on occasions, honestly, the roots on some of my plants :)

    I think you will find your mystery plants is a persicaria.
    I have it in my garden, love it as it pops up through the border.

    Love the chair in the teaching garden. Who wouldn't love to sit in that.
    Fabulous post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The wildflowers by the edge of the lake were really lovely, it all looks so natural around that area. I've never heard of persicaria but that's definitely it, it's looking lovely in the bed at the moment and I'm sure it will be even better when it has some other plants flowering beside it.

      Delete
  4. The beauty of a place like this is that they can afford to have and look after many more plants than we as domestic gardeners would ever be able to. I'd really like to have a garden big enough to hold a pond, a bog-garden and a wildflower meadow! (Dream on, Mark...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha, wouldn't we all? I think the great thing about these gardens is that we get to see so many different plants and settings all in one place and they keep on changing throughout the year so there's always lots of new things to see on each visit.

      Delete
  5. It seems just like yesterday when I read your last Harlow Carr post Jo - the year is slipping away! I love that leaping fish and would gladly slip those hostas and primulas into my garden. I think that the lilac flower is persicaria bistorta 'Superba' - a mouthful of a name for a lovely plant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, the year is going by so fast. I haven't noticed the leaping fish on my previous visits so I wonder if it's new, perhaps not, I often walk around with my eyes closed to what's around me. I love the hosta and primula combination, hardly any slug damage on the hostas either, they look fabulous together.

      Delete
  6. What a lovely garden to visit with lots of interest. Love the lake with wildflower area. It would my day to spend a Saturday or Sunday there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could certainly make a full day of a visit as there's so much to see. I love the lake with the wildflower area, it all looks so natural, I'm sure the wildlife loves it too.

      Delete
  7. Looking good, what a difference a month makes. And warm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't believe how much growth there's been in the last month, and lots of work has taken place too as there's now different displays in some of the beds. The tulips have been cleared away and other plants have taken their place. We'd been expecting rain on Saturday so the weather made a nice change.

      Delete
  8. Gosh Jo where do I start?

    What a lovely post and your pictures are so good to.
    I love the lake, I adore the alliums, the fish willow structure is amazing ... even the large spade.

    So much to see and what a lovely day... oh and yes that acer is superb !

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harlow Carr is such a wonderful day out no matter what time of year you visit, but there's something extra special at the moment with so many plants just starting to bloom and the anticipation of lots more to come. I'm sure it will have changed again by next month.

      Delete
  9. I do love the pond and the wildflower plantings, and that fish is totally fabulous! What a brilliant idea! I do like to grow herbs, there is nothing nicer than having a selection fresh from the garden for cooking, the taste is unbeatable!
    That is my idea of a lovely day out!xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's my idea of a lovely day out too. I thought the fish jumping out of the steam a brilliant idea, I haven't noticed it on my previous visits. I want to take a closer look at the herb bed on my next visit, it's really bulked up through the year so far and is looking fabulous now.

      Delete
  10. The wildlife pond is wonderful! My interest in herbs has also grown, especially after my recent visit to the herb garden at the Botanical Gardens - all of those mounds were beautiful, not to mention the wonderful scents as you touched this or that leaf.

    We are having a lot of rain recently as well - most everything seems to be growing like a weed now (including the weeds!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've noticed the herb bed on previous visits and the mounds have grown as each month has passed, the bed's looking lush now, I want to take a closer look next time. We had quite a bit of rain through the night but it was fine for our visit to Harlow Carr on Saturday, I was surprised as rain had been forecast. It made up for it yesterday instead.

      Delete
  11. I can see that Harlow Carr is inspirational place to visit. There's so much to take note of and it's good you can go there often. I wouldn't be able to have a bog garden area in my garden, but I like the way the candelabra primulas are mixed in with the hostas and the irises are in big clumps. There's clever planning in the planting in all the different areas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's definitely an inspirational place to visit, there's so many ideas that you can take away with you. I loved the pairing of the candelabra primulas and the hostas, that's something I'd definitely do if I had room. I enjoy having a monthly visit as so much changes from month to month.

      Delete
  12. AnonymousJune 15, 2015

    A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures.
    As you show there's so much to see there, and visiting every month shows just how much a garden can change in just a few weeks.
    I really must grow some alliums next year. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My alliums have disappeared this year so I must get some more, they're such beautiful flowers. I was surprised by my visit this time as just how much everything's changed. I suppose everything's growing so fast at this time of year and something new seems to bloom every day so there will be big changes with a gap of a month.

      Delete
  13. Lovely place to visit. The flowers are beautiful and I really like the willow fish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're lucky to live so close to Harlow Carr so that we can visit regularly and see the changes each month. It's such a beautiful garden.

      Delete
  14. It looks so beautiful, I wish there were such gardens in the area where we live.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're actually spoilt for choice as we have so many lovely gardens nearby, we're very lucky. This is the only RHS garden I've been to though, I'd love to visit one of the others.

      Delete
  15. So beautiful and interesting! I like the kitchen garden and flowers near the lake. Thsnk you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Kitchen Garden is my favourite area of the gardens, I'm looking forward to seeing it fully productive once summer gets underway.

      Delete

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