Greenbank Garden in Springtime

 Introduction

Earlier today my wife and myself undertook a short trip to the heritage site of Greenbank House near Glasgow, Scotland. We were attracted by the Greenbank Garden Market which was held in the front and inside courtyards of the House.Here we were able to view the wide range of food, produce, arts, crafts and artisan stalls including delicious street food on offer. Inevitably we came away with shopping bags bulging with food offerings plus some plants for the garden.

Information on Greenbank House and Garden

Greenbank House is now owned by Scotland’s National Trust but has origins as the mansion of an 18th century tobacco merchant. The owner’s wealth was created by importing American grown tobacco prior to that country declaring independence. There was nothing unusual in tobacco dealing in the early 18th century. This business created huge wealth for many local businessmen and ‘kick-started’ Glasgow’s development as a commercial centre.

However, the tobacco business was dependent on slavery which,through today’s eyes, is viewed with opprobium. In fact, many of Britain’s palaces and grand houses were ultimately financed by slavery, mainly in the West Indies. Greenbank boasts an excellent and well maintained garden which at this time  is adorned with a wide range of lush and subtle greenery interspersed with shafts of colour.. This is testament to the diverse collection of plants in the old walled garden  which is surrounded by woodland. Originally, this garden supplied the mansion house with fruit and vegetables. The property is cocooned by beech trees and Scots pines. This provides a shelter belt planted during the garden’s creation. 

 

 

 


 



 


 


 

 


 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 





Video clip of garden

Video clip of Art Deco fountain


Front façade of Greenbank House.

Approach to Greenbank House and Garden


More information

The publication Visitors’ Guide to Scotland contains information on Scotland’s gardens plus a wealth of further information for the tourist. The ISBN of the publication 978-1-9161332-0-4. This is also available via Kindle.





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