Himalayan Garden

Step into the Himalayan Garden and find yourself immersed in the landscapes of Asia.

Here, plants from Japan, China, and the Himalayas thrive, carefully cultivated to create a lush and authentic experience.

What you can find here

No ordinary stately home garden

Rock pools, water rills, stepping stones, and an authentic Stupa built in collaboration with Bhutanese monks give the Himalayan Garden its unique character and distinctive charm.

A river flows gracefully through the garden, cascading over rocks before meandering its way across the wider estate to meet the River Wharfe, two miles away.

Originally nurtured by HRH Princess Mary and her husband, the 6th Earl of Harewood in the 1930s, with expert guidance from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, the garden began as a collection of rare Sino-Himalayan plants, including primulas, blue poppies and rhododendrons.

In the early 2000s, the garden was expanded to almost twice its original size to include a new bridge and walking trails, as well as a new plant collection, including trees & shrubs, bamboos, cobra lilies, orchids and many more.

These developments also saw the building of the Harewood Stupa in 2004 by a team of local craftspeople in collaboration with Buddhist Monks from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, who supervised the authenticity of its construction.

The Harewood Stupa is a one-of-a-kind feature among UK gardens, symbolising Harewood’s deep connection to its Himalayan influences.

HRH Princess Mary taking a party around the the Rock Garden in the early 1930s

A visit to the Himalayan Garden is a magical experience at any time of the year, but is especially colourful in spring to early summer, when the garden is illuminated by thousands of Rhododendron blooms, and the glades are adorned with carpets of Primulas, flowering in successional flushes of purple, pink, orange and yellow. The garden is a wonderful spectacle again from early autumn, when trees and shrubs, as well as a host of herbaceous plants are vividly painted with tints of yellow, bronze and red; pink, purple, and green."
Trevor Nicholson - Harewood House Trust Head Gardener