History
Greenbank Gardens in Clarkston, about six miles from the centre of Glasgow, was established in 1763 by Robert Allason, one of the many Glasgow merchants. He was no stranger to the area - his forebears had farmed in the area for centuries. After making his fortune, particularly in trading with the American colonies, he bought a large part of Flenders Farm, the home of his ancestors.
The house had sixteen rooms plus separate barns and stables and from the outset there was a walled garden. Allason got into financial difficulties at the time of the American War of Independence (though many of his fellow-merchants coped very well with the conflict, running contraband tobacco into Glasgow for sale in the UK and Europe).
The house passed through a number owners until it was bought by W P Blyth in 1962. With his wife, he began the ornamental planting which is such a joy today - until then it had been used largely to grow fruit and vegetables for the owners. In 1976, the Blyths gave Greenbank House, the 2.5 acres of walled garden and the 16 acres of the estate to the National Trust for Scotland so that everyone could enjoy the peace and quiet and the ever-changing flowers throughout the year.
Layout
One of the great attractions of Greenbank Garden is its layout. By the skilful use of hedging and tall plants it has been divided up into about a dozen different areas, each with its own character.
As you wander from one area to the next, different styles and a variety of flowers and trees meet the eye. And, as the seasons change, some of the flower beds are given a complete makeover. The parterre, illustrated below, is full of daffodils in the springtime but these are replaced later by the anthemis and senecio as in the illustration below.
One of the corners of the garden has a fountain and, as you stroll around, the sound of the falling water is heard from various points, long before its source can be seen.
The Flowers
In the National Trust tea-room adjoining the garden, there is a large encyclopaedia of plants to help visitors to identify flowers which they don't know - and it is well used! The garden has around 3,000 plants, though with the changing seasons, not all are on show at the one time. In addition to the more usual spring bulbs, apple and cherry blossom, astilbe, aubretia, deutzia, dicentra, saxifrages, hydrangeas, primulas, dahlias, roses, philadelphus, azalea, rhododendron, lythrum, crocosmia, phlox, cosmos, echinops, sedum, lavatera, monarda, helenium (pictured here) and sweet william, there are rodgersia pinnata superba, echevaria gibbiflora metallica and agrostemma (plant labels helped with some of those too!).
You can see a selection of photos of the flowers in Springtime and Late Summer in "Flipbook" format.
When the Blyths bequeathed Greenbank to the National Trust for Scotland they asked that it should be run as an educational/education garden. Much of the planting has been designed to be a source of inspiration to ordinary gardeners who can see not only flora which they can plant in their own plots at home but also layouts which can be adapted to smaller scale gardens.
Parkland
In addition to the house and walled garden, visitors can wander around the 16 acres of woodland. These are at their best in the springtime when the rhododendrons and daffodils are in bloom.
The small herd of Highland cattle are a popular sight throughout the year, however. It is a sign of the times that most of the herds of these shaggy beasts are to be found nowadays on estates in the central Lowlands of Scotland - though it is also bred in the USA, particularly Wyoming.
Opening Hours
Greenbank Gardens is off the main road from Clarkston to Newton Mearns and is well sign-posted. It is open every day from 9.30am to sunset but the tearoom and shop is only open each day from 11am to 5pm from 1 April to 31 October and 2-4pm at weekends from 1 November to 31 March.
