These are blog posts that Harlow Carr Gardeners has made.
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It is difficult to match the singular beauty and romanticism that a rose bloom can evoke. I am happy to say that this plant has been a reassuring companion throughout my career. I look back on those fledgling years during the early 80s when I was an apprentice gardener working for Sheffield Parks Dept. I received my first master class on pruning from an elderly gentleman called Stan. He gave me the gift of his 40 years experience and enthusiasm and he taught me how to appreciate the natural beauty and fragrance of roses.
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Its been an exciting few weeks here at Harlow Carr, the development of the new alpine house is well under way
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A pink wig and false eyelashes….not something I usually don on a Tuesday evening, but when duty calls! The main borders were the magnificent venue for our Opera Evening, ‘Don Pasquale’ a 70’s musical romp, where Harlow Carr staff stewarding the event dressed up to get the party started – hence the costume!
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Monday saw the entire garden team and many of our volunteer gardeners routing through the undergrowth amongst primed stinging nettles and lacerating brambles in the pursuit of Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera). It has many common names including Indian balsam, jumping jack, policeman's helmet, Indian touch-me-not, ornamental jewel-weed, pink peril and poor man's orchid. This invasive relative of the familiar tender busy Lizzie has become increasingly established along the boundaries of Harlow Carr particularly along the stream which transects the garden. It is a fast growing thug growing to two meters with broad leaves and a high tolerance of shade. It can quickly shade out our native flora and is common throughout Britain particularly along stream and river banks. It is swiftly dealt with by the first frosts but the damage is already done and the prolifically produced seed overwinters readily. The banks of watercourses regularly flood in the winter months but where the soil stabilising native plants have been smothered out the banks are susceptible to erosion. The flowers also produce large amounts of nectar and are popular with many native insects. This may seem like an arguably beneficial attribute but these pollinators are being drawn away from our sometimes less generous native wildflowers which are then unable to set seed
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The umbrellas were up and down like yo yo’s last week at Harlow Carr. It appears the autumnal chill has descended over the country and the only glimmer of warmth is our success at the Beijing Olympics! We have done so well with our swimming medals, and you could have done a fairly credible backstroke in the stream in the gardens with all the deluges of rain too!. Still, the resilient plants are still flowering their hearts out, and despite everything providing a magnificent show to our intrepid, mainly sodden visitors.
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What a fabulous day we all had on our annual Pirate Day which traditionally marks the close of our family fortnight event here at Harlow Carr
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