Greenbank Garden
Flenders Road, Clarkston
Glasgow G76 8RB
Why Should We Visit
Many of Scotland’s great gardens are on a grand scale, but despite surrounding an elegant 18th century house, the two and half acres of gardens at Greenbank have been designed along domestic lines and there are lots of ideas that visitors can take away and try out at home.
The walled garden is protected by woodland and offers a sheltered space for spring bulbs and herbaceous flowers to flourish and the setting provides a tranquil spot, close to the city to escape into nature. There’s a cafe and a plant sales area and Greenbank Garden is popular with locals and visitors.
Story Of The Garden
Greenbank was built in the 1763 for Robert Allason who made his money as a tobacco merchant and slave trader in the days when Glasgow was the second city of the British Empire. The walled garden was built at the same time as the house, and both are surrounded by tall, swaying beeches. After the American Wars of Independence, Allason went bankrupt and lost the house and estate.
Over the next two centuries, the house was owned by a number of families, including several generations of the Hamilton family. In 1961 it was bought by William P. Blyth who, with his wife, transformed the grounds from fruit and vegetable growing to the ornamental gardens that are seen today. Then, in 1976, Mr & Mrs Blyth gifted the house, walled garden, and estate to the National Trust for Scotland who made the decision to make it a showcase garden, providing inspiration for the suburban homes that had grown up on the edges of the estate.
Highlights
In February, the 16 acres of woodlands around Greenbank are carpeted in snowdrops and as these fade the daffodils start to appear. Greenbank has a fine collection of daffodils, with more than 450 different varieties, which enjoy the heavy clay soil. These are then succeeded by sheets of bluebells.
Don’t Miss
The walled garden at Greenbank opens for the season on April 1 and amongst its most beautiful features is a bronze statue called ‘Foam’ that stands in the centre of the pond. This statue, by Charles d’Orville Pilkington Jackson, was first exhibited at the Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park in 1938. It was subsequently exhibited at the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988. Greenbank is also home to a National Collection of Bergenia, with many different varieties grown together so that visitors can compare them.
Anything Else To Look Out For
The tall hedges within the walled garden divide the area into 12 separate ‘rooms’, each with their own individual character. There are herbaceous borders, lawns, greenhouses and Alpine beds. The gardens contain over 3,700 plants including cherry blossom, astilbe, primulas, azaleas and rhododendrons.
Best Time To Visit
Even before the walled garden opens in spring, the woodlands surrounding Greenbank are filled with witch hazel, viburnum and scented sarcococca, while the ground is covered in woodland flowers and bulbs.
Any Recommendations in the Area?
Dams to Darnley Country Park has been developed over the last 20 years as a space for people and wildlife. It sits between Barrhead, Darnley and Newton Mearns and its most distinctive feature are five, interconnected reservoirs that are fed by the Brock Burn. Downstream there are woodlands, a range of habitats for wildflowers and wildlife, and paths for walking, cycling and horse riding.
Directions
Greenbank Garden sits off Flenders Road in Clarkston, Glasgow.
Details:
Woodland open daily.
Garden and house open from 1 April,
10am-5pm, £8.50/£6
Tel: 0141 616 5126
greenbankgarden@nts.org.uk/www.nts.org.uk
At the heart of one of Glasgow’s biggest parks lies Pollok House, a grand country mansion filled with artworks by the likes of Raeburn and Guthrie. Once the home of the Maxwell family who made much of their money in trade with the Americas, it has been open to the public for more than 50 years.
The estate surrounding it is an oasis of greenery in the midst of the city and deer roam through its woodlands, while kingfishers can be spotted on the River Cart, where it flows past the house.
It is in these grounds that the Burrell Collection is set to re-open next month after extensive refurbishments, and that should mean an increase of visitors to the gardens that surround Pollok House.
These are laid out in a formal style close to the house, with clipped parterres and green lawns. The same style is echoed within the walled garden, which faces south and which would have once provided food for residents of the house and the estate.
The parkland is home to fine trees as well as to a herd of pedigree Highland cattle and areas along the riverbank have been left wild in order to create habitats for the abundance of birds, insects and small mammals that thrive close to some of Glasgow’s most urban neighbourhoods.
The wider estate offers plenty of space for walks and cycling.
Pollok House
Pollok Country Park
2060 Pollokshaws Road
Glasgow G43 1AT
In Association with Discover Scottish Gardens. See www.discoverscottishgardens.org.
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