‘Himalaya’, ‘The Abode of Snow’, the vast range of mountain peaks which arc across Central Asia, has an extraordinary diversity of flora.

Alan Titchmarsh, who opened the garden in May 2009, said “The Harewood Himalayan Garden is a hidden gem and second to none in the UK. Tell your friends!”

Harewood’s Himalayan Garden, a redevelopment of the ‘Rock Garden’ nurtured by Princess Mary and her husband the 6th Earl of Harewood in the 1930s, is this extraordinary world in miniature, a plant-hunter’s paradise.

With paths through a gorge and a bridge across the beck, this is somewhere for all garden-lovers to visit, with primulas, orchids, cobra lilies, blue poppies and more than 50 kinds of rhododendron.

It is also home to the Harewood Stupa, a Buddhist monument built in 2004 by monks from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The Stupa is the only one of its kind in the UK.

Some rare and beautiful flowers you might be lucky enough to see in this exotic Garden if you visit in June…

Iris Meadow

Primula Meadow

Cobra Lilly

Bhutan Pine

Chinese False Spikenard

Big-leaved Magnolia

Large Yellow Slipper Orchid

Blue Poppy

Enjoy the Gardens this Summer at Harewood…!

Read more and see videos about the Gardens on our website…

In the strawberry patch in our Walled Garden there are absolutely loads of strawberries forming!

Strawberries – fruits flowering after pollination by the bumblebees!

There are only a few flowers left to be pollinated, the rest have been and the fruits are now forming and gradually dropping under their own weight down onto the straw mulch as they swell.

We just need the sun to come out and ripen them, then you’ll be able to buy your own fresh punnet from our shop…mmm!

Read more about our Gardens including videos and recipes on our website…

As well as our traditional ‘English’ cottage garden flowers, some of our more tender exotics, such as the lovely blue salvia patens (Gentian Sage) from Mexico and the ornamental onions from central Asia are to be seen in flower now too…

Flower border in early June

Rose Constance Spry

Rose Ophelia

Rose Blairii No.2

Salvia Patens

Bearded Iris

Ornamental Onion Flower

Rose Madame Alfred Carriere

Foxglove Excelsior Hybrid

Delphiniums

Foxglove Elsie Kelsey

The borders are a must-see attraction at Harewood!

Read more about the Borders on our webpages…

Our group of Chusan palms are just coming into flower in the Archery Border. You most likely won’t have seen these palms anywhere else, nor would you necessarily associate palm trees coming into flower in Yorkshire! These flower here thanks to the southerly-facing aspect and sheltered location of the Archery Border below the Terrace, it’s a real sun-trap in Summer and a nice quiet spot for relaxing with a book…

The palms look fantastic in the Archery Border here at Harewood…

They were planted in the border about twelve years ago as part of the sub-tropical replanting scheme and have since grown to more than ten feet high. They are native to central China. Another name for them is the ‘Chinese Windmill Palm’. Their scientific name is Trachycarpus fortunei, they are named after the famous (and very interesting!) Victorian plant hunter, Robert Fortune, who discovered them growing on the island of Chusan near Shanghai.

Find out more about Robert Fortune on the Plant Explorers.Com website

Find out more about the Gardens at Harewood here… 

The ‘Dig for Victory’ bed is starting to show results…with peas, beans and potatoes looking promising…

As well as the three varieties we are growing as part of the ‘Dig for Victory’ plot, we have a further ten different varieties of potato growing in the Walled Garden.

Crops in the Walled Garden are all labelled so you can take a look for yourself and get tips and ideas for growing in your own garden!

Gardeners are always on hand and happy to answer questions too…

The Walled Garden is a hive of activity throughout the Summer months, harking back to its heyday when it would have been the centre of food production for the Estate.

Some of the varieties we grow…

Arran Victory was bred in the Isle of Arran by Donald Mackelvie. Victory, the oldest of the “Arrans” still grown, was named in 1918 in celebration of the ending of the war. It is rare and is one of only two blue skinned varieties still available for general cultivation. It is high yielding given a long season.

Home Guard. This first early variety was first introduced in 1942 and was grown by Jeremy Shirley’s father in the late 1940’s – the Dad’s Army Days!
Home Guard is a superior potato of excellent flavour that does not go floury like some varieties. Both the skin and flesh is pure white. High yielding and with good resistance to scab, this explains why this popular wartime variety found huge commercial success – and has continued to remain one of the gardener’s favourites since WWII.

Kelvedon Wonder has been a favourite with gardeners for many years. It is an early variety but is suitable for successional sowings throughout the season.

Green Windsor. Those of you old enough to recall those great old days of English gastronomy just after the last war will remember that the choice of starters for a 3-course, table d´hote (à la carte had yet to be invented) meal was either fruit juice or the ubiquitous Brown Windsor Soup. Introduced in 1831, this ever popular variety was once one of the main ingredients of said soup.

You can read more about the Walled Garden on our website, including the free beekeeping demonstrations run by the Harrogate & Ripon Beekeepers Association which take place in the Walled Garden on Saturdays from now for the rest of the Summer.

Enjoy the Gardens at Harewood this Summer!

Read more about the Gardens at Harewood here…