What’s looking good at RHS Harlow Carr?

Mid-spring sees the terraces behind the Bath House burst into life with a host of choice woodland plants. Take your time to explore the traditional rock garden area and discover the delightful pompom flowers of drumstick primulas, alongside dwarf rhododendrons, hellebores, dog’s tooth violets and early trilliums – their charming colours pop against a backdrop of stone, lichen and moss.

The Woodland undergoes a surge of growth in April, as the woodland floor soaks up light and warmth, before the tree canopy breaks into leaf. See a wealth of spring flowers illuminate the ground beneath grand old oak trees, from the subtle beauty of Trillium sessile to Corydalis and elegant Erythronium californicum ‘White Beauty’. Let your eye wander from cowslips, primroses and pulmonarias at ground level, up towards mature magnolias and rhododendrons in full bloom, all set off by the golden glow of daffodils on the woodland fringes.

From early spring and into summer, the magnificent blooms of rhododendrons fill the Woodland with colour and scent. Our oldest specimens, planted in the early 1960s, have now grown above head height, creating a mini forest feel as you walk beneath them. Rhododendrons grow well in the cooler conditions at RHS Harlow Carr, and as temperatures have increased in the southern counties, the importance of our collection has increased.

On chilly spring days head into the Alpine House to admire our seasonal pick of tiny alpine gems displayed in plunge beds. This month, enjoy the bright blooms of miniature daffodils, primulas and saxifrages. ‘Arthur Delbridge’ is a particularly striking Primula auricula with deep purple and pink flowers around glowing egg-yolk yellow centres. Now in its second year, explore the limestone rockery beside the Alpine House to discover a collection of lime-loving alpines.

Early crops of lettuce, mixed salad leaves, spinach and radish get going in the Kitchen Garden, as young pea plants start to climb their twiggy supports and rhubarbs push up through the ground with their radiant red stems and fresh green leaves. A host of uplifting daffodils and tulips fill the borders and pots around the glasshouse and, at the end of the month, the Malus ‘Evereste’ crap apple hedge is completely smothered with pink buds that open to white blossom.

Grown under large terracotta bells, the first rhubarb of the season is ready to harvest in the Kitchen Garden. Growing rhubarb excluded from light like this not only makes it grow faster, but the resulting pink stems are incredibly sweet. Rhubarb thrives in the cooler, wetter climate at RHS Harlow Carr and we grow lots of local varieties bred in Yorkshire. The beautiful terracotta bells were made at a local pottery using clay from the area.

A flush of gold marks the start of spring at RHS Harlow Carr. As warmer days take hold, drifts of sunshine yellow daffodils bring colour to much of the garden, including the Arboretum, Queen Mother’s Lake, Kitchen Garden and around the Alpine House landscape. The golden hues continue with bright yellow crown imperials (Fritillaria imperialis) in the Woodland, forsythia in the old winter garden and marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) on the banks of Streamside.

The Heather Beds continue to bring wonder in spring and provide valuable food for pollinators. Those not in flower create a patchwork of foliage effects, from zingy gold to dark green leaves, alongside swathes of delicate pink, purple and white blooms. The heathers look majestic set against the blues, silvers and greens of firs and birches.