Very much part of the Yorkshire countryside, RHS Harlow Carr is a delight in every season. Very much part of the Yorkshire countryside, RHS Harlow Carr is a delight in every season.

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Winter Walk

Bursting with seasonal interest, the Winter Walk demonstrates that no garden need be without colour during the colder months

Looking its best in...

Winter Clashing colours, contrasting textures and wonderful fragrance
Early spring Early-flowering bulbs, including iris, snowdrop, cyclamen and winter aconite
Autumn The blazing foliage of Cornus, Parrotia and Acer

A sensory experience

Beginning near the garden’s entrance, the 315m Winter Walk pays homage to plants that bring colour and texture to the garden during the coldest and darkest months.

Interest begins in autumn as leaves start to change colour and continues through to the riotous spectacle of spring bulbs. Plants with interesting stem colours, attractive foliage, glowing berries and scented flowers are key to the scheme, providing a sensory experience.

The walk was expanded and refreshed in 2016 and now incorporates layers of planting, from tiny bulbs to statuesque trees, each with features that shine in winter – although many of these plants look good throughout the year.

It’s all about the planting

In winter, the vibrant stems of Cornus (dogwood) and Salix (willow), in colours ranging from bright yellow through to black, stand out against feathery conifers and clipped yew hedging. The ghostly trunks of Betula utilis punctuate the borders and make great specimen trees all year round.

The snakebark maple Acer davidii ‘Serpentine’ offers fiery autumn colour, while Callicarpa japonica ‘Leucocarpa’ has unusual white berries in late autumn. Included are large swaths of leafy evergreens that provide a backdrop to the seasonal highlights as well as adding foliage interest.

Colour at ground level

A recent addition to the walk are 5,000 dwarf bulbous iris in rich shades of yellow, purple and blue, including Iris reticulata cultivars ‘Katharine Hodgkin’, the deep blue ‘Harmony’ and purple-black ‘Pauline’, as well as scented, yellow Iris danfordiae.

From mid-February, Cyclamen coum and Eranthis (winter aconite) light up the walk at ground level, while November-flowering Galanthus elwesii ‘Mrs Macnamara' is one of the earliest ‘spring’ bulbs.

Scented delights

Many of the flowering shrubs along the Winter Walk are strongly scented, and their intoxicating fragrances often catch visitors’ attention before they notice the flowers.

Sarcococca is one of the first plants to flower, with sweetly scented, delicate white blooms among dense evergreen foliage. Viburnum also offers delightful fragrance, while daphnes provide a succession of scent from Christmas to April. In particular, D. bholua ‘Cobhay Snow’ has proved its value with pure white flowers and unbeatable fragrance.

Dogwoods make exceptional plants for winter interest. Renowned for their fabulous coloured stems, which are available in fiery and zingy tones, they also provide lush foliage during the summer months and rich seasonal leaf colour in autumn.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr Horticulturist

Plants in the Winter Walk

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.