Visited on September 22, 2007
Our trip to the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) Harlow Carr gardens was an impromptu adventure that we undertook on the advise of one of the Holehird volunteers. It was a gorgeous Saturday and provided an opportunity to see some of the countryside and towns east of Manchester. The RHS Harlow Carr garden is located in the town of Harrogate, about two hours from Manchester by train.
As usual, people were fantastic in helping us find our way to our destination. The bus driver informed us that we could use our bus ticket as coupons for ½ off the admission fee to the garden. The other passengers monitored our progress and let us know when to get up to exit the bus.
My strongest impression was how much color there was for mid-September. The beds were full and lush with well-kept lawns and walkways for strolling. Certain areas conformed to themes (such as historical periods). There was plenty of room for rambling in this fifty-eight acre facility, the most northerly garden for the RHS.
The garden was originally established in 1950, under the Northern Horticulture Society as trial grounds for plants growing in the northern climate, and merged with the RHS in 2001. The goals of the RHS are to help people share a passion for plants, encourage an excellence in horticulture, and inspire those with an interest in gardening.
In Norse, Harlow Carr means “land reclaimed from bog.” As the name implies, there are challenging growing conditions with the soil – a combination of silt, sand and heavy clay. The soil is also acidic due in part to sulfur springs on the land. This creates drainage problems when there are heavy, torrential rains. This far north, frost can continue into early June.
As a visitor on a beautiful Saturday, these growing and weather conditions were not evident as we toured the woods and gardens that had once been the ancient royal hunting grounds called the Forest of Knaresborough. The prominent trees of the forest were beech, pines, Rowan, and Whitebeam, which can do well in the lime rich, acidic and clay soil of Harlow Carr. The discovery of sulfur water on the site eventually led to the development of a hotel with a spa, bathhouse, and gardens in the 1840’s that was very popular at that time.
The philosophy at Harlow Carr is to work with the conditions rather then fight them. A rock garden was an example of how they worked with the land. Underneath the rock garden were six limestone-capped wells. Among the rocks they planted UK native harts-tongue ferns, bloody cranesbill, and dog mercury, that would grow well in limestone conditions. Large quantities of grit, plus fine composted bark and a drainage system, was used in the garden to avoid floods, which can occur when there are heavy torrential rains. The pathways in the garden were a combination of formal and informal design. The naturalistic approach placed plants together that complimented and supported each other, which required less maintenance than the traditional borders.
The Alpine House contained a collection of over 2000 different plants. The glasshouses served as a protection from the wet rather than the cold since these plants can succumb to fungal diseases if their crowns become waterlogged. The Alpine Houses were showing their age at the time of our visit but since then, the RHS has replaced these glasshouses with contemporary houses.
I found the September garden at Harlow Carr to be a showcase of what can be grown in our own gardens when we have soil and weather conditions that are difficult to work with. By selecting plants that will work with you, gardening will be joyful and inspirational just as this garden was an inspiration to me.
Visit this site at: www.rhs.org.uk/harlowcarr