I often think that autumn can get a bit overlooked as a season. By the end of September many shops now are displaying Christmas goods and gradually the preparations for Christmas start to take over. But autumn beauty lasts well into November and Autumn can so easily get lost in the run up to Christmas.
A couple of weeks ago we visited RHS Harlow Carr. It was a birthday treat for me--a walk around the gardens and lunch in Betty's Tea Room. We often have the grandchildren with us when we visit Harlow Carr, but not this time, so instead of visiting the Tree House, the Log Maze and the Log Ness Monster we were able to go anywhere we wanted.
The arboretum was a good place to go since we wanted to take in the season's colours. We wandered along the path going further than we had before on our visits. We hadn't realised the arboretum extended as far as it did. Back in the main part of the garden the main borders were still looking good even though the summer flowers were over with. There was plenty of colour and structure from the grasses and seed heads of the dead flowers. Around the main gardens there was some spectacular colour from specimen trees.
We paid the customary visit to the kitchen garden which was looking much like our allotment with some brassicas and salad still remaining and empty beds prepared for the winter. We noticed that the big pumpkin and squash beds were now empty. Where were the missing pumpkins and squash? We found them in the greenhouse looking very colourful. Having visited Harlow Carr in December a few times I'm sure that they will form part of the Christmas displays. We'll be back next month to check them out.
