Firth of Clyde

Geilston Gardens

Photographs of Geilston Gardens

at Cardross on the Firth of Clyde

in the West of Scotland

Map of Geilston Gardens

( Note: Click here or on above for large format copy )

Bay at Ardmore Peninsula near Helensburgh

Geilston House in Geilston Gardens

A category "B" listed building

Built for a Glasgow tobacco merchant.

RCAHMS - Geilston House

Pine tree ( Wellingtonia )

in Geilston Gardens

Wikipedia - Wellingtonia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum )

Walled garden in Geilston Gardens

Geilston Burn in Geilston Gardens

Mill pond in Geilston Gardens

Waterfall from Mill Pond

in Geilston Gardens

Mill House in Geilston Gardens

Geilston Gardens

Aerial view of Geilston Gardens

Firth of Clyde

from Geilston Gardens

Tudor style Geilston Hall in Cardross

A category "C" listed building

RCAHMS - Geilston Hall

Mackintosh Architecture - Geilston Hall

Map of Cardross

GEILSTON GARDEN - DESCRIPTION:

Main Road, Cardross, Argyll G82 5HD

Scotland is ﬁlled with extraordinary gardens but few can match the enchantment of Geilston, where a window in the potting shed
set into the garden’s high walls opens onto a secret glade where thousands of wildﬂowers spangle the grass on either side of a tinkling burn.
May is the best time to catch this spectacle, when bluebells and wood anemones stud the ground and the trees above them are opening fresh, green leaves.
The glade is part of the woodland that surrounds Geilston, which is typical of the small estates that sprung up along the Clyde during
the 18th century as their owners grew rich on shipping and trade.
It was at this time too that exotic new plants began to arrive on these shores and the centrepiece of the walled garden
is a 250-year old Wellingtonia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum), which is now 30 metres tall.
This magniﬁcent tree presides over a 40-metre herbaceous border that is just now beginning to get into its stride, ﬁlling up with
foliage and the ﬂower buds that will provide a succession of colour throughout the summer.
The three sides of the garden that surround the house are smothered in roses and both here and in front
of the house are parterres created from low hedging which, along with the avenue of trees that line the
driveway, add a period touch to the estate and contrast with areas of contemporary planting.

DELICIOUS EDIBLES

Geilston is home to a huge kitchen garden, which is surrounded by beech hedging and protected by a shelter belt of trees that ﬁlter the
winds rushing in from the River Clyde.
The soil here has been cultivated for more than two centuries, so is deep and rich, providing the perfect growing conditions for
carrots, cabbages, lettuces and a whole range of vegetables.
Part of the garden is occupied by a large collection of rhubarb varieties and an orchard, currently smothered in
blossom, provides fruit later in the year.
At the very centre of the garden is a dipping pond that supplies water for the crops and throughout the summer.
Ripe produce is sold from a stall at the entrance gate.

GLORIOUS GLASSHOUSES

At the far end of the walled garden is a restored Mackenzie and Moncur greenhouse, where seedlings and tender plants are
warmed by Victorian pipework, set beneath the cast iron gratings that form the ﬂoor.
For more than 30 years, Mackenzie and Moncur, which was established in Edinburgh in 1869, created some of the ﬁnest
greenhouses, orangeries and conservatories in the country and many are still in use today.

FUN FQR YOUNG VISITORS

The potting shed, woodlands and secret glade are all appealing to children and there is also a playground and a mini maze to keep young visitors entertained.
The burn is ideal for pond dipping and playing Pooh sticks and there are enough ﬂowers in the long grass to make endless daisy chains.

BLUEBELLS

The bluebells growing at Geilston are our native Hyacinthoides non-scripta. These are distinguished from Spanish bluebells by their
nodding habit and ﬂowers that hang from just one side of the stem. Grown in numbers, they give off the fragrance of hyacinths.
Scotland’s ancient woodlands provide perfect conditions for bluebells, which enjoy dappled shade beneath a light canopy of emerging leaves.
When planting bluebells it is important to buy them from a reputable source which guarantees that they have been cultivated from seed and not dug up from the wild.