In the 1730s the 2nd Earl of Aberdeen raised the terrace to the east of the house and planted an avenue of lime trees, which remain today. A fountain on the terrace was installed around 1836, followed by the creation of the stone-kerbed flower beds. The present fountain dates from 1899, when it was commissioned by Lord and Lady Aberdeen to replace the earlier one. It was made specially for Haddo although its design was inspired by common classical design forms which were popular at the time.
The Haddo garden contains several different components:
- The formal terrace, which is a key part of the classic view of Palladian-style Haddo House
- The long and elegant herbaceous border
- The intricate beds in the Jubilee Border
- The fernery
- Lady Aberdeen’s secluded corner garden
- The specimen trees on the lawns
The view from the terrace garden across Haddo Country Park are glorious. You can admire many commemorative trees, including two enormous wellingtonias planted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1857. By the late 19th century, Lord Aberdeen had begun to plant the policies with millions of trees, as well as making ornamental lakes and setting out various drives and walks.
A number of Trust properties have lawns with waxcaps, but the most diverse and greatest display can be found on the lawns of Haddo House. The lawns at Haddo are managed for the waxcaps, which need the grass to be short but not too short.
Haddo has 18 species of waxcap. And it’s not just waxcaps nor the 17 species of pink-gill which makes its biodiversity impressive; it also has 9 species of Clavaria or coral. These are peculiar-looking fungi, whose appearance, like minced play-clay, is very different from the waxcaps. Look at the pathsides in the terrace garden at Haddo in November and you will see them.
