RHS Harlow Carr: Forget Blue Monday colourful winter blooms set to dazzle following cold snap

Date: 15th January 2023.
Picture James Hardisty.
For those wishing to escape the Monday Blue's on 'Blue Monday' then a visit to RHS Garden Harlow Carr, at Harrogate, will brighten up your day to see the fantastic winter colours which are still on display within the grounds. Pictured RHS Garden Harlow Carr gardener Molly Turgoose, admiring a colourful flowering Hamaemelis shrub. — Date: 15th January 2023. Picture James Hardisty. For those wishing to escape the Monday Blue's on 'Blue Monday' then a visit to RHS Garden Harlow Carr, at Harrogate, will brighten up your day to see the fantastic winter colours which are still on display within the grounds. Pictured RHS Garden Harlow Carr gardener Molly Turgoose, admiring a colourful flowering Hamaemelis shrub.

The UK’s gardens are seeing a rush of winter colour with plants held back by December’s cold spell all now flowering in sync, says the RHS, as it calls it the perfect antidote to Blue Monday

With the temperature set to drop this week, the charity is expecting a prolonged display of winter favourites that will last well into February.

Witch hazels, winter-flowering honeysuckle, Japanese quince, hellebores, and snowdrops are all now in full flower after the heat and light of last summer promoted good bud formation, December’s freezing conditions provided the necessar y chilling that plants need to flower, and recent above-average temperatures promoted speedier growth.

With the forecast suggesting temperatures will fall very slightly over the next few weeks, this flowering is set to continue into February with flowers slower to "go over” in colder conditions.

Tim Upson, Director of Horticulture at the RHS said: “This year has already got off to a colourful start in gardens with plants exploding into flower all at once and riding out what has been a ‘see-saw’ year in terms of weather. Although spring has not yet sprung there is already much to see, with the flash of dogwood stems and heady scent of winter-flowering honeysuckle helping to chase the winter blues away and these dramatic displays are set to continue into February.”