View the map

Back

Lakeside Gardens

The Lakeside Gardens give a flavour of the changing fashions of gardening over the past century – they are undergoing a transition to incorporate views across the lake and woodland

Looking its best in...

  • Spring Seasonal container displays bursting with spring bulbs
  • Summer Enjoy a riot of colour from billowing summer perennials and roses

Edwardian Garden

Originally created for the BBC television series Gardens Through Time, the Edwardian Garden represents garden philosophy at the turn of the 20th century. This space illustrates the skills of Gertrude Jekyll, one of Britain’s most celebrated planting designers, and those of architect Edwin Lutyens, with whom she worked on many commissions. Lutyens was renowned for his use of ponds, rills, paving and pergolas, while Jekyll was a formidable plantswoman best known for creating colourful herbaceous borders.

A garden of contrast

Modest in scale, the garden features a rectangular pond with moving water, and has recently been refreshed with new paving and a traditional dry stone wall.

In contrast with the garden’s formal layout and structural yew hedges, its planting is mostly informal and reflects Jekyll’s consideration of colour and texture. Summer-flowering perennials, roses and seasonal container displays are the main floral highlights, along with soft grasses and dwarf evergreens. Hummocks of Ballota are repeated at intervals and balance the brighter tones of plants such as Lychnis chalcedonica.

John Brookes Garden

In the late 1960s, garden designer John Brookes helped inspire a change in thinking about how gardens are designed and used. For the first time the requirements of garden owners were prioritised. High-maintenance gardens with traditional rolling lawns and complex planting schemes were cast aside in favour of spaces that required less upkeep but retained style, and were pleasing places in which to spend time.

John Brookes’ influence can be seen here in this 1970s-style garden, also created for the Gardens Through Time television series. The garden features a simple patio softened by foliage and silver birches, which add height and structure.

A new garden for a changing climate

The John Brookes Garden is ripe for renovation and planning has begun to transform this area into a Rain Garden, designed to illustrate the latest scientific solutions for tackling extreme weather events, which are predicted to increase in our changing climate.

The new garden will be packed full of achievable take-home ideas that can be used in domestic gardens. Once established at Harlow Carr, it is hoped these ideas will be implemented across the wider landscape as we seek ways to manage water and mitigate against the damaging effects that too much or too little water can have.

Painted walls can bring a contemporary look to your space and provide a much-needed splash of colour through the winter months. Choose a colour that complements the flowers or foliage you plan to grow in front of it. Darker colours, for example, highlight silvery foliage.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr Horticulturist

Plants in the Lakeside Gardens

  •
Lychnis chalcedonica
  • 0.5–1 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Lychnis</em> <em>chalcedonica</em>
Aconitum carmichaelii Wilsonii Group
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Aconitum</em> <em>carmichaelii</em> Wilsonii Group
Veronicastrum virginicum 'Lavendelturm'
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
  • 0.5–1 metres
<em>Veronicastrum</em> <em>virginicum</em> 'Lavendelturm'
Humulus lupulus 'Aureus'
  • 4–8 metres
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
<em>Humulus</em> <em>lupulus</em> 'Aureus'
Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low'
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Nepeta</em> <em>racemosa</em> 'Walker's Low'
Pseudopanax ferox
  • 4–8 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Pseudopanax</em> <em>ferox</em>
Allium sphaerocephalon
  • 0.5–1 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Allium</em> <em>sphaerocephalon</em>
Ballota pseudodictamnus
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Ballota</em> <em>pseudodictamnus</em>
Lychnis chalcedonica
  • 0.5–1 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Lychnis</em> <em>chalcedonica</em>
Aconitum carmichaelii Wilsonii Group
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Aconitum</em> <em>carmichaelii</em> Wilsonii Group
Veronicastrum virginicum 'Lavendelturm'
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
  • 0.5–1 metres
<em>Veronicastrum</em> <em>virginicum</em> 'Lavendelturm'
Humulus lupulus 'Aureus'
  • 4–8 metres
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
<em>Humulus</em> <em>lupulus</em> 'Aureus'
Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low'
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Nepeta</em> <em>racemosa</em> 'Walker's Low'
Pseudopanax ferox
  • 4–8 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Pseudopanax</em> <em>ferox</em>
Allium sphaerocephalon
  • 0.5–1 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Allium</em> <em>sphaerocephalon</em>
Ballota pseudodictamnus
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Ballota</em> <em>pseudodictamnus</em>

You may also be interested in...

Living structures: creating and maintaining

Living structures: creating and maintaining »

Read our advice on water: collecting, storing and re-using

Read our advice on water: collecting, storing and re-using »

Get involved

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.