The broad beans and lettuces in the growing frame seem to be doing really well. They even needed a watering this week, as the conditions in there are so warm that the soil had dried out quite a lot. The slug pellets are holding their own in there too and so far no damage at all. The garlic plants growing... Read more..

This weekend I was involved in a couple of local radio gardening phone-ins - Garden Plus on BBC Essex on Saturday and Dougan Does Gardening on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on Sunday. It would seem that everyone is desperate to get growing, probably because of our extremely mild January weather - is this... Read more..

"I'm late!, I'm late! For a very important date." So said the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland . And if I was an exhibition veg grower I would be late. I've just sown some ‘Mammoth Improved' onion seeds, whereas exhibition growers always try to sow their onions on Boxing... Read more..

Well the last week here at Harlow Carr has been rather a wet one. Much of the site is waterlogged, but we have been quite lucky in that most of the rain has fallen during the night, the days have been quite sunny and warmish, the first snowdrops are showing their heads and many of the hamamelis are well... Read more..

It’s been wonderful here at Harlow Carr this week! After two week of snow on the ground this week has felt very much like spring has arrived!! The birds are singing and every day more and more crocuses are popping up their brightly coloured heads! It has been a real pleasure to be outdoors cutting back... Read more..

What a change in the weather since I last wrote the blog on the 6 th Feb, then we were ankle deep in snow, whilst this week it’s been a good 8 degrees warmer and we’ve had some lovely heart warming sunshine. Tom and I have been working hard on our Island beds this week; lifting and dividing plants from... Read more..

Last Monday, 2nd March, work started on our exciting new rose garden development. Regular visitors will have noticed us clearing and preparing Weather Hill recently, and the information boards outlining our new garden. The Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden, sponsored by Witan Investment Trust, is going to have... Read more..

The spring sunshine certainly made a difference to the garden this week, not least because the gardeners were able to strip off their thermals and bask in the warm sunshine! The gorgeously scented Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ is still surprising visitors in the scented garden – a must have winter... Read more..

This year has been an absolutely fantastic flowering season for spring flowering magnolias. For the past month, starting with Magnolia 'Caerhays Belle' and M. campbelli i var. alba we have seen non stop flowering. Both Battleston Hill and the Wild Garden in particular have been stunning in shades... Read more..

May for me is my favourite month, everything is looking lush and fresh, and all plants are still so vibrant at this time, before a lot of the foliage has deepened to the true colours of summer. I’ve been away from Harlow Carr for one and a half weeks holidaying in Germany and then down at Chelsea on... Read more..