RHS Harlow Carr is a 58 acre garden just outside Harrogate. It features a range of planting styles including woodland, prairie, streamside, rockery and kitchen gardens, with the Sub-Tropicana Garden likely to be of particular interest to BCSS members. This is planted with a selection of colourful Aeonium and x Mangave cultivars each summer and also has a small glasshouse with some potted succulents. The Sub-Tropicana garden was expanded last year and also contains palms, gingers, bamboo, tree ferns, bananas and Mediterranean plants.
A new cactus bed is being constructed in the Alpine House at the moment. You should see a good selection of hardy succulents and South African bulbs on display here during September too.
Big changes are taking place at Harlow Carr this year with the aim of highlighting the site’s history as a spa. The old Harrogate Arms hotel is being renovated to turn it into a new cafe for the garden next year, with new areas of planting planned to help tie it together with the sulphur springs, wells and bath house, which is now used for art exhibitions.
A scree bed is currently being constructed from limestone outside the Alpine House; the location at the top of the garden is expected to provide excellent conditions for alpine plants. Planting will begin in autumn after the stones have settled in.
The top of the site also has a dry garden and an educational garden, located next to the Bramall Learning Centre building where we are holding the cactus and succulent show. This is a modern, eco-friendly building with a Sedum roof.
Harlow Carr is also hosting fruit and vegetable, cyclamen, daffodil, tulip, rhododendron and alpine shows this year. It is the only one of the RHS’s 5 gardens not to have held a BCSS event before and is the only garden to be holding a cactus and succulent show this year. RHS Wisley also hosted a BCSS-organised event in May which featured a non-competitive display, plant sales and talks.
Visit the Harlow Carr website to find out more about the garden or view the interactive map.