Welcome to 2014

This is my first blog of the new year and I send happy gardening wishes to everyone.

I celebrated the new gardening year by going to RHS Harlow Carr 

www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr‎

which I last saw when Matthew Wilson was in charge there.

The garden itself has an interesting history, having at one time being owned and run by the Northern Horticultural Society. I remember going to one annual dinner where the speaker was an up and coming TV personality by the name of Dairmud Gavin. Ever heard of him? 

Under the auspices of the RHS, funding has clearly increased in the last 8 years as has the ethos and direction of the garden.

A new state of the art learning centre 

image taken from the RHS Harlow Carr site

now sits 

where once the potager or kitchen garden was sited.

I loved this garden and wanted one just like it - even though my own garden space at the time would have held only 3 cauliflowers!

All the raised beds were beautifully arranged and the plants within, although clearly primarily productive, were themselves part of a cleverly crafted design.

Just stunning!

However, time moves on and the new vegetable plot has been re-located. Although still productive it has, for me, lost the pazzazz of the original.  

It was interesting to see that the Gardens through Time are still looking good and all credit to the gardeners who maintain them to such a high standard.

Clearly early January is not the best time to view them so I feel a return visit is called for.

Some of the best bits of the garden for me, in January, were 

firstly, 

the altered section of the garden below the alpine house where grasses and late flowering perennials were originally trialed. This section is now host to some splendid monoliths and grasses looking good after some frosting 

and secondly 

the varied and interesting pots which are or will be planted up later.

                                                       

Other bits which were new to me and which I loved were the whimsies and curios

Every garden should have a sense of mystery, magic and humour.

And last, but not least, the lovely old clock was working!

Time to go!!