- Location: Flenders Rd, Clarkston, Glasgow G76 8RB
- Opening times: 1 April to 31 October, 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. CLOSED 1 November to 28 February.
- Entry: Adult £10.00, concession £7.50, child £5.00, family £25.00, one adult family £15.00, Young Scot £1.00, NTS members free.
- Access: Onsite parking no charge.
I have avoided covering gardens in this blog for the simple reason I know nothing about them. My ability to identify flowers is limited, I have no inkling about which plants are best for which seasons, and I have any zero understanding of plant care beyond ‘If it looks a bit brown water it’. My own garden has been entirely laid out by Annie, with my main contributions being cutting the grass and humphing backs of compost in from the car.
I was made aware of Greenbank Garden courtesy of the guide book I had picked up at Holmwood House, which had an ‘Also Worth a Visit’ section in the back. As the garden was just a short drive from Holmwood I decided to give it a go, especially once I realised that it was home to a rare survivor from the Glasgow Empire Exhibition 1938.
Greenbank House was built for Glasgow merchant Robert Allason in 1763, who bought the land with profits made in trading slaves and tobacco, although the American Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783) set him on the road to bankruptcy. It was in the hands of the Hamilton family between 1796 and 1961, after which it was owned by a Mr. and Mrs. William Blythe. Prior to their ownership the garden was functional, being used largely as a kitchen garden, but the Blythes converted it into the decorative garden we see today. In 1976 they donated the house and its garden to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), who remain its caretakers.
…Foam, a bronze statue of a water nymph and the aforementioned survivor of the Empire Exhibition. It was sculpted by Charles D’Orville Pilkington Jackson (1887 – 1973), whose best known work is inarguably the equestrian statue of King Robert the Bruce (1964) at Bannockburn.
Foam was originally surrounded by other mythical creatures at the Empire Exhibition, but these were sold off post-event. Pilkington Jackson elected to keep the water nymph. Following the sculptor’s death in 1973, Foam was moved to Greenbank, the closest garden to her original site in Bellahouston Park where the Exhibition was held. She now resides in her secluded area of the garden, surrounded by tall hedges with only the pleasant burbling of the fountain alerting visitors to her presence.
Destination or Diversion?
Like Holmwood House, whether Greenback Garden is a destination or diversion is really going to be down to the individual. I was there for under an hour only because that’s all the time I had to spend; were that not the case I would have explored the woodland walk that surrounds the walled garden. I imagine a fair number of visitors just pop in for a quick nosey, but on the day I was there I noticed several people using the garden simply to relax. One young man was sitting reading a book amidst the National Begonia Collection, a couple of young ladies were chatting on the lawn when I arrived and were still there when I left, and a late-middle aged couple were taking their time to study the contents of the garden with the aid of an information leaflet available at reception. So, destination or diversion? It’s up to you.
