Unknown Blue Iris

The gorgeous blue Iris planted alongone side of the Sunken pool Garden.Half of the garden was roped off hence all the photos are from the side closest to the rose covered arbours.

Surrounding that garden was wild flowers and long grass.A wildlife friendly ecosytem right alongside the formal structure and planting of the Lutyens-Jekyll garden.

My head is swimming still with photos and flower names.There are still another five seperate garden area's to blog about.That was not all of them either!

58 acres is an enormous amount of ground, and when every border is literally stuffed full of plants, flowers, and tree's it is hard to take it all in.I think I could happily spend a week just wandering around with Camera and note book.

I love the small army of gardeners who were working on the Harlow Carr garden.I would love one of those jobs working there.

The visitors came thick and fast despite the rain. Britain, a nation of gardeners who dont mind getting soaked to the skin even with umbrellas. Getting wet looking at natural beauty is worth paying.

I hope the blog posts from today gives an idea of what Harlow Carr is like, as a flagship RHS garden. Growing in difficult conditions which has tested even the RHS gardeners. There is so much more to post.

One last photo to post today, give you a chance to absorb it all :)

Red hot pokers

Red Hot pokers planted next to the Geums between the Arbour and the Sunken pool.Their proper name is hard to pronounce so will stick to common name!

Roses up the Arbour

I have to get some of these pink Climbing roses.They were fragrant too.They looked lovely especially with the mass planting and sunken pool behind them.The light was quite poor with dark rain clouds making the camera think it was twilight.

Colours in the perennial Border

My one sideways photo of the massed planted perennials that grow above the sides of the sunken pool.There were Geums with red flowers, some blue Iris, some Red hot pokers, Gazanias, roses climbing up the arbour entrance where two benches invitingly waited to be sat on to shelter from the rain.I dont know the red flower name, the blue is Salvia I think.There were lots of pink roses too, you can see a few on the bottom left of photo.

Far end of sunken pool

The sunken pool at the other end with a cascading waterfall.The planting complements the hard structural elements.Most gardens need to work with the structure of a house.I love water features be it fountains, waterfalls, or still water.The lillies were floating, could not see any koi carp though!

Lutyens-Jekyll Garden

The garden shows the working relationship between English Architect Sir Edward Lutyens, and Gertrude Jekyll matching structure and planting.The Sunken pool and masses of Perennials deserve their own photo post.

Gardens through Time

After the Rose revolution border, and the Kitchen garden the path leads to a series of seven connected gardens.They were televised in 2004 as part of the BBC's Gardens through time.I have a book which traces the history of gardens from the Pre Roman days up to the 20th century.The interest is what plants and flowers people were growing, and how the fashion of the day has shaped those gardens.As we look forward we always look back too.

There is a Georgian garden from the 1700's, a Victorian garden, A matterhorn Alpine garden from 1890 (which i cant remember seeing.parts of the gardens were closed off), A Jekyll-Lutens garden which will get its own post, a 1951 festival of Britain garden, a 1970's outdoor room garden, and the final one is a Diarmuid Gavin Contempory garden.

Pictured above are the Victorian Pagoda which is strikingly red, but appeared to be stood behind thick shrubs accessible nowhere from the garden.

I am actually in a photo above, sat in a Follie.I thought it looked like a traditional african hut with the willow roof.I love the ideas of follies, shady comfy seats where you can watch the garden, and smell the flowers.The 18th century used follies and great seats around country estates for the owners to enjoy the views.

We have comfy chairs and tables now, an advancement from the follies of old.

An unknown flower bud, and in the victorian garden a row of Strawberry plants below a stone wall. One of the flowers is a pink, the other one is unknown to me :)

The final two pictures show the Auricula theatre, and inside a walk through shed, lots of fried flower heads, and seedheads. Old fashioned room decorations taken from the garden.It is from a Alium.There were certainly plenty of Aliums to dry seedheads from all over the gardens.

Next stop the Spectacular Jekyll-Lutyens Garden...