The Terrace Gallery is a dedicated art gallery at Harewood

As an educational charitable trust, our role is to preserve and protect Harewood, it’s collections and grounds for the public benefit. Quite often, people are unaware of how much work goes into keeping a House like Harewood to ensure that this remit is possible.

2015, sees the launch of a new series of displays which will provide you with more detail about the major projects we undertake. The Art of Conservation which is located in the Servants’ Hall, Below Stairs, shows how we care for our collection of Chippendale furniture. From helping to slow down the decay of time to major restoration projects, this is a great behind-the-scenes display suitable for people of all ages.

Mr Turner and Mr Girtin, The Early Years, is a display of Harewood’s collection of 18th century watercolours. This is the first time these world famous artists have been so directly compared. Housed in the Terrace Gallery, the paintings have been hung against clean, white walls so that you can really focus on the differences between these great artists who both painted the same views of Harewood.

Finally, for the start of the season, you can uncover the secrets of the oldest and most expensive rum in the world which was discovered in the cellars of Harewood. See the original 18th century handwritten cellar books and see the rum bottles themselves! The display is available to view on the State Floor, in the Watercolour Rooms.

Throughout winter, our Keepers have been busy landscaping every enclosure and aviary so they are tailored to the individual species that reside there. Twice a year, our team use several tons of sand, gravel and woodchip as well as hundreds of metres of turf to create ideal habitats. The perches are replaced, nest boxes are cleaned out and indoor areas painted.

Outside the aviaries, all the Bird Garden footpaths, aviary walls, fences, benches and signs have been jet-washed and the fences, aviaries and sheds have been protected with over 100 litres of paint by staff and volunteers.

When we reopen in April, the most noticeable changes will be seen in the landscaping that has taken place. The original Bird Garden planting scheme was designed in 1969; many conifer hedges and juniper bushes were planted to cover fences and provide wind shelter for the birds. These had become overgrown, blocking light to the aviaries and surrounding areas. There is now a light, airy feel, with enclosures such as the African Grassland being reclaimed from the dense planting.

Importantly, wonderful lakeside views, which had almost disappeared, can now be enjoyed. You will be able to stand alongside the Flamingos and gaze across the Lake at the surrounding landscapes and enjoy native wildlife as originally intended.

To encourage our native species, we are introducing brand new, bird feeding stations inside the Bird Garden to add to the existing popular lakeside feeders which have seen Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and several species of Tits and Finches as regular visitors.

The new Bird Garden feeders, are designed to encourage lakeside species such as Cormorants, Herons, Little and Crested Grebes, Kingfishers as well as seasonal birds such as Goosanders and Golden Eyes. Permanent residents including Mute Swans, Large and Small Glebe and Dippers will also benefit from the improvements. The new feeding areas will include perches, dedicated bird and drinking facilities with bird bathes with a view down to the Flamingos from a seating area.

Incubation and Rearing Rooms Ready for Coming Year

The incubation and rearing rooms, which are housed away from the busy public areas, have been given a spring clean and the equipment checked ready for the breeding season. The incubators and brooder boxes have been switched on, and are now ready to be used when needed. Watch this space for news!

Winter Holidays

Even with the mild winter weather, some of our less hardy birds have been brought into heated indoor accommodation. Some of the Finches, our Maroon-Bellied Conures and “Freddy” the White Fronted Amazon, are some of the birds enjoying their winter holidays indoors. Located next to the Keepers’ offices, it can get quite loud with the chattering and calling from these often noisy guests. Several of the birds are good mimics, and have a repertoire of phrases and calls they often repeat.

One of a pair of snowy owls at Harewood

For some of the hardier birds, the team have collected oak leaves and pine tree needles to landscape enclosures. The foliage is spread out on the aviary floors to create a soft surface for the Snowy Owls, Tragopan Pheasant and Chilean Flamingos. Tannin from the leaves also helps to protect the skin on the bird’s feet over winter.

Conservation and Protection of Rare Birds

Many of Harewood’s rare and endangered species are part of managed breeding programmes. It’s an important role, which ensures that populations close to extinction in the wild are sustained, whilst maintaining genetic diversity.

As part of this ongoing conservation work, we’ve collaborated with Paignton Zoo. They have sent a young male to pair up with our single, Red-Legged Seriema female, “Ethel”. Ethel’s new boyfriend has passed quarantine tests and has been given a clean bill of health. He will be introduced to Ethel before we open in April. As he’s settled in, he’s started to grow a long mane of feathers, typical for a male Seriema, and can now be heard calling out from his aviary searching for a mate.

The nearest relative of the Humbolt Penguin are the African Penguin, the Magellanic Penguin and the Galápagos Penguin.

The Humboldt Penguins are starting to claim nest burrows that are not already occupied, with some couples trying out several nests before they decide. One of our older pairs, Otto and Mr Otto had previously separated (the equivalent of a penguin divorce!), have now paired back up.  As their romance blossoms, they are getting ready for the breeding season by guarding their house from other would be squatters.

We have also rehomed a young female penguin to another breeding zoo. She is settling down and has paired up already which is great news to hear.

The chance of feeding the Humboldt penguins with the Keepers, on a one to one basis, is the best way to get close to these inquisitive birds for a personalised close up experience.

Harewood has been home to a deer park since the medieval era with three types of deer spread over 4,000 acres of land. There are approximately 155 Red, 45 Fallow and 45 Roe with the number fluctuating when the calves are born around June.

The Red deer is one of the largest deer species and, although they were once rare in parts of Europe, they were never closetoextinction. Successful reintroduction and conservation efforts, particularly within the UK, have resulted in an increase of Red deer populations. This species have varying colouration depending on the season and habitat in which they live, with grey or lighter colouration in winter and more reddish and darker coat colouration in the summer.

Native to Western Eurasia, the Fallow deer can be identified by its chestnut coat with white mottles in summer or by a much darker, unspotted coat in the winter. Fallow deer are widespread on the UK mainland and are present in most of England and Wales.

The Roe deer is relatively small with reddish and grey-brown colouring, and well adapted to cold environments. The roe deer is renowned for being very quick and graceful with very short antlers. The world-famous deer Bambi was based on a Roe deer but was changed to a White-Tailed deer upon its feature film adaptation.

Male deer cast antlers each year, usually in April, with the oldest deer’s casting their antlers first. Deer are herbivores meaning they eat fruits, acorns and nuts as well as grass and evergreen plants in the autumn and winter.

You can currently purchase venison from Home Park.

Standing at approximately 150cm wide by 200cm high, this Chippendale mirror has taken four men about two hours to move. One of 24 Chippendale mirrors at Harewood House, this particular piece has been in the Watercolour Rooms since 1994, however, its original location remains unknown.

Thomas Chippendale’s largest commission was Harewood House and many of the original items remain within the collection. As one of Britain’s finest furniture makers, Chippendale created rare and beautiful furniture for the Lascelles family almost 250 years ago.

Harewood is renowned for its beautiful gardens and inspiring planting schemes. In the Himalayan Garden, which is at its peak between April and July, the stream, rock garden, waterfall and mature planting give this enclave of the grounds a natural, untamed feel, not unlike being in a miniature version of a Himalayan valley.

Harewood’s Himalayan Garden contains many rare and unusual plants, many of which were introduced by intrepid plant explorers, and include Blue Poppies, Cobra Lilies, Primulas and Orchids, all planted amidst a host of trees, shrubs, rhododendrons and bamboos.

What to look out for?

These must include the famous Blue Poppies of the genus Meconopsis from the Sino-Himalayan region. There are several kinds of Chinese and Himalayan poppies growing in the Himalayan Garden and many more are being planted this spring. They’re not all blue either, other colours include lemon, white, pink and red. Some species grow as small Alpine plants on thin soil in the rock garden, whilst others can grow to 2 metres on humus-rich, moist soil in the woodland garden.

If you’re looking for orchids there are several types growing in the Himalayan Garden, mainly in the gorge and rock garden area. Terrestrial orchids representing genera such as Pleione, Cypripedium and Calanthe can be found at Harewood.

Cobra Lilies of the genus Arisaema are an exciting and unusual addition to any garden. There are several species growing at Harewood, all of which are very striking plants with their distinctive snake-like appearance. They are very variable too with some having large reticulated hoods with long appendages and very large leaves, whilst some are short and slender with club-like appendages and narrow leaves. One species even has a cobra-like hood and a twisted tongue-like appendage and can grow up to 2 metres tall. Keep a look out for this striking plant in July.

One of the simplest and most striking plants to grow in the Himalayan Garden is the “Candelabra” primula. Flowering between May and June, this is a robust spieces, thriving in wet soils. From western Sichuan, the bright pink flowers stand out against the pale silver stems.

Rhododendron:

One of the finest displays of colour at Harewood in spring is derived from the hundreds of species and hybrid rhododendrons that grow throughout the grounds. From dwarf species with tiny leaves and flowers growing in rock crevices in the gorge to tree rhododendrons standing upwards of 20 feet tall with large trusses of funnel-shaped flowers growing in the woodland garden, there is a huge variety of colour and form here. The best time to see the rhododendrons in flower is between April and June, although we do have a beautifully fragrant white-flowered species which flowers in late summer. This is Rhododendron auriculatum which was HRH Princess Mary’s favourite.

Top Tips for Growing Rhododendron from our Head Gardener:

Trevor has been caring for Harewood’s gardens for over 20 years now and has some hints to help you choose and successfully grow rhododendrons in your own garden.

1. Choose the right rhododendron for your particular site and buy quality plants from a good nursery. There are so many different kinds of Rhododendron available to suit all kinds of situations. Ask at the nursery for advice on the best rhododendrons for your site.
2. Plant in moisture-retentive acid soil. Good drainage is also important, and on some sites it is better to plant in a shallow scoop, firm in with soil and then mound-up to the top of the root-ball with compost rather than to plant in a pit. At Harewood, we add compost at planting but prefer to add this to the upper part of the root-ball rather than sitting the plant onto a layer of compost, which then sinks leaving the plant sitting in a sump which collects water, especially in winter.
3. Keep your plants healthy by applying an ericaceous fertiliser annually in early spring, and giving them a plentiful supply of water during the summer months, followed by a mulch of leaf mould in the autumn.

Don’t forget to come and visit Harewood when we open in April to see these beautiful plants at their best.