Troughs

[Lina Hesseling]

Very nice pictures, Cliff.
I only had a quick look at them, but I will take more time to look at them later today. Busy, busy!

This must have been a great day out for you.

Lina.

[Maggi Young]

I think the work done at Harlow Carr is terrific... and largely attributable to the efforts of Kaye Griffith, whoi has, of course, studied the innovations in the likes of Utrecht and has  "run with it" .

See this thread from 2007, for instance:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=208.0


Pic by JIY  of Kaye with Henk Westerhof in Utrecht

[Tim Ingram]

Thanks for that link Maggi; I'd seen some of those ways of growing plants before but they are fascinating and thought provoking and I agree very much with Ian about the use of recycled materials - it opens up opportunities you would never think were there. Harlow Carr is a definite must for a visit one day. (I wonder if Kaye gives talks....?).

By coincidence I showed some pictures taken at Aberconwy at one of the local AGS meetings recently, and was reminded of it by Cliff's picture of the vertical tufa wall at Harlow Carr. I only have a slide of the tufa at Aberconwy - it is next to one of the greenhouses and I think made to capture water run off from the glass. I saw it before it had been planted and it rather resembled a Michelin Man! Would be interesting to see how the plants have done on it.

[Lina Hesseling]

Cliff, again thanks for the great pictures.
A few years ago I visited BG Utrecht and saw the big balls and admired them.
What a good way to use material again.
It is also very nice to see how this gives inspiration to others and see them doing it a little different.
Like Tim, I think troughs look best when you have more of them.

I am not a rock gardener, but seeing these pictures makes me think, where can I do something like this on a small scale in my garden.

Lina.

[hadacekf]

Cliff, enjoyed your photos immensely. Thanks
Tim, I grow Veronica caespitosa in full sun. It is a plant of alpine cushion steppe  at 3000m. No snow and cover in winter!

[ranunculus]

Many thanks Lina and Franz.
A few more images from Harlow Carr that slipped through the net in the previous posts ...

[Lvandelft]

Cliff, nice to see these many nice troughs in Spring here. We were there in late September and I made a lot of pics then. Could not get enough of it.
Very interesting to see that after two winters on pic. 41 the Erodium is replaced by some more hardy plant.
My picture of Sept. 2010:

[astragalus]

Maggi, thanks so much for supplying the link to the Utrecht Botanical Garden.  Really fascinating.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks for these wonderful pictures Cliff. The thing I remember about Harlow Carr (1981) was my camera being shoved out of my hand and broken on a concrete floor. Time I got over it.

[brianw]

At the Building Exhibition at the NEC last weeks there was an Architectural Salvage company that had some massive granite? horse? troughs for sale. I think the sign said they had originally 50 or so and just a few left. They were 6' or so long, ~20" or so high and front to back, but the only hole/recess was shell shaped the size of a bathroom basin in the middle. I can only assume the large space each side was for the rider/groom to stand or sit on, or maybe they doubled as mounting blocks. I forget the price; similarly massive I think.

[angie]

Cliff great pictures. One of my favourite places. Was there earlier this year and it was a very cold day. What a difference when the sun is shining.
I remember having some huge bun in the coffee shop. I think it was called a fat rascal or something like that 

Angie

[wolfgang vorig]

other troughs

[ranunculus]

Excellent, Wolfgang ... many thanks for posting.

[mark smyth]

Cliff I was at Harlow Carr two weeks before you. You had a lot more colour. What's the lovely Ranunuculus?

I see Plantago nivalis the woolly plantain in one of your photos. That's where I saw it and have asked for it in the plants wanted section. When I was there there were lots of 'flowers' but hardly any on your photos. Maybe Harlow has collected seeds.

[ranunculus]

Hi Mark,
The lovely Ranunculus is the New Zealander; R. nivicola.

I would expect Harlow Carr to collect as many seeds as possible to prevent possible theft by visitors and to perpetuate such precious species.