AUTUMN at RHS GARDENS, HARLOW CARR 2013

I drove over to Harlow Carr today and after having an early lunch with a friend, we went for a stroll around the RHS Gardens.  While a lot of the flowers had finished, not all by any means, it was the autumnal colours of the trees and shrubs that caught my attention; particular the Japanese maples.  I particularly liked this view with yellow in the distance, then orange, and in the foreground a red one.

Autumn colours at RHS Gardens, Harlow Carr - October 2013

A little farther ahead on the path was a dazzling blue spruce.   It's colours are really strong and I think the softer autumn light has a lot to do with it as I don't recall it quite catching my attention in such a way when I visited in summer.

Blue spruce (left)

Autumn colours at RHS Gardens, Harlow Carr - October 2013

I noted that the vegetables in the plots nearer to lake are being allowed to go to seed.  There were several lettuce which had bolted and interestingly several artichokes which had gone to flower and then seed.

Artichokes going to seed - RHS Gardens, Harlow Carr, October 2013

 If any of you need to do a spot of digging this autumn, I doubt you'll find a bigger spade to do the job than this one.  It's a garden feature by Joseph Bentley and must be 8ft or more tall.   Note, I use Joseph Bentley tools (external link) in my garden, but much smaller ones!

Giant 'Joseph Bentley' spade with metal bird on top

How about these for a splash of colour in autumn?  They are the everlasting flowers belonging to the 'Limonium' family and are commonly known as 'statice'.  The papery flowers just go dry and remain on the stems.  They're very popular with florists and once upon a time I grew them in a previous garden and found them easy enough to grow.  They are annuals and can be grown from seed in a sunny, well-drained spot.  They grow up to 24" (60cm) high and will flower up to the first frosts.