An NTS gem where ‘The Secret Garden’ meets ‘Alice in Wonderland’

With family living through in the west, we thought we’d have an Easter Day meet-up in a walled garden (naturally!), this time in Glasgow, so found ourselves in the magical Greenbank Garden, managed by the National Trust for Scotland. This was a first visit for all of us, and this place was a real find! Yes, it was very probably their busiest day of the year and yes, there were many chocolate-fuelled children racing round the garden in search of clues, but this was Easter Day. And, actually, it was a lovely, almost timeless atmosphere, where there were lots of families playing traditional games or encamped on the lawns! Think ‘summer fete at local stately home’ and you’ll have a fair picture. And that’s surely what these places should be about, hosting local family gatherings outside on wonderfully sunny Spring holidays. If I were the Trust’s CEO, I think I’d be rather pleased.

And actually, despite there clearly being quite a few people in what is a relatively small garden of 2.5 acres (by stately home standards!), it did not feel crowded, or rushed, or noisy. And that’s down to the very clever design of this garden, as it is divided into eight (or maybe more!) smaller gardens. Gardens which are all different, it’s true, but which share the same ‘wrappers’ of clipped yew hedging, beautifully mown lawns and wonderful stone pavers. The yew is porous, not in terms of visibility (the hedges are thick and above head height) but in terms of sound so you can hear the alluring splash of cascading water nearby but you can’t see it, creating intrigue and mystery! Entrances to gardens are part-obscured by clever placing of hedges so you have to progress inside to see what’s there!

But this is no kitsch theme-park garden. It is very tastefully done, and the horticultural variety and care of it is exceptional. And there is something for all gardeners, at all levels. The yew hedges and topiary (and there is a lot of yew!) are beautifully clipped with some really nice detail. While there were clear signs of wear in places (not surprising!), the grass generally was of a standard I’ve not seen for a very long time. Nothing beats closely-mown, moss-free lawns! And despite it being only mid April, there was a lot of interest in the typically -Scottish mixed borders of herbaceous, shrubs and trees, and the central aisle than runs down the garden is beautifully planted, creating a locational framework for the smaller gardens that branch off it. There were some wonderful Spring shrubs flowering including dwarf rhododendron, azalea, camellia and a beautiful specimen of Magnolia soulangeana in the corner of the garden beside the entrance door- huge purple goblets offering themselves up to the blue sky!

If water is your thing, there is a large, semi raised lily pond fed by an old-fashioned pump framed by the hedge and on the other side of the garden the larger-than-life water nymph, ‘Foam’, tempts you into her circular, blue waters! I could go on, but I’d be listing every kind of gardening there is, from screes to grasses and house-plants to veg!

Something for everyone, but also a place to take the non-gardener. Look at the big picture, not the detail. This garden will have a lovely ambiance on a normal day, enveloped as it is by a mature deciduous woodland. Children will love all the entrances and exits, the topiary and the sculptures, the excitement of not knowing what’s round the next corner.

And yes, despite it’s small size, it is comfortingly ‘very NT’! They really do know how to do tea rooms, merchandise, plant sales, courtyard seating areas and, yes, toilets so tastefully. And all credit to the Head Gardener (and his team) for delivering such a high standard of horticulture so early in the season.

You can find out more about Greenbank Garden, its history and its raison d’etre here. Allow yourself 2-3 hours and go home as inspired as I was.