Much of the beauty in show gardens like RHS Harlow Carr comes from the skilful layering of colour, form and texture. That's what I was trying to capture in these images.
The herbaceous 'long borders' have been thinned out quite a lot ready for new planting for next year, but they still looked delightful. I rather liked the 'red-hot' pokers but either they've not turned red yet or these are a cooler variant. Either way, their sculptural quality is attractive.
I adore the neon purple of the Verbena bonariensis, the plant at the front of the border above. They've been too big and sprawling for any of my gardens but I'm always drawn to them. I used to have a sedum at my previous house, a welcome splash of colour at this time of year. The one in the photo below - Purple Emperor - had rather gorgeous chocolate coloured foliage.
Even on its way to dying, the eryngium (sea holly) looked spectacular, its bleached out spikes showing up against the deep blue clematis.
Some of my favourite areas of the gardens are the nectar alleys in the teaching garden, with ornamental grasses, lots of cone flowers and hyssops. The breeze creates lots of movement here and the colours, against the grey paths, look stunning.
Thank you for a set of beautiful pictures to look at with my morning coffee!
ReplyDeleteYou succeeded admirably in your aim! I've noticed that sometimes combinations of colours which you wouldn't normally expect to work together combine quite attractively. What's more I'm certain that gardeners then copy from each other!
ReplyDeleteDifferent tones from a spring garden. Quite lovely.
ReplyDeleteLovely...I'm always awestruck when not only colors but forms and textures are planned with gardens. Oh those garden planners with their little charts, they know more than just the name of what goes where!
ReplyDelete