View source for Geilston Garden

{{short description|Garden in Argyll and Bute}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Geilston House - geograph.org.uk - 415737.jpg|thumb|Geilston House]]
[[File:Path beside Geilston Burn - geograph.org.uk - 1359934.jpg|thumb|Garden path beside Geilston Burn]]
'''Geilston Garden''' is a property of the [[National Trust for Scotland]], north-west of [[Cardross]], [[Argyll and Bute]].

Geilston Garden was developed more than two hundred years ago with a date given for its development being 1797,<ref name=LB1181>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB1181|desc=Cardross, Geilston House with walled garden and green house|access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref> combining several features (traditional walled garden, kitchen garden, wooded area). The walled garden has a dominating 100-foot [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|Wellingtonia]] (''[[Sequoiadendron giganteum]]'') in the centre of the lawn. The Geilston burn wends its way through the north of the estate towards the [[River Clyde]] in Cardross. The origins of the garden were most likely a result of the 1770 Montgomery Act, which saw the land around the house enclosed and planting undertaken.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cardross, Geilston House {{!}} ScotlandsPlaces|url=https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/hes/141629/cardross-geilston-house/rcahms|access-date=2021-08-04|website=scotlandsplaces.gov.uk|language=en}}</ref>

Geilston was opened to the public with the death of the last resident, Margaret Bell, who was a friend of Elizabeth Hendry, the owner of Geilston who bequeathed the house to the National trust for Scotland and gave her friend life rent of the house.<ref name="undiscoveredscotland.co.uk">{{Cite web|title=Geilston Garden Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland|url=https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/cardross/geilstongarden/|access-date=2021-08-04|website=www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk}}</ref> The Hendrys moved into Geilston as tenants but the family bought the house from the Geils in 1922.<ref>Truscott, J. and Palmer, H. (1988). Private gardens of Scotland. New York: Harmony Books. p46</ref> The garden as it appears today was mostly laid out by Elizabeth Hendry and Margaret Bell.<ref name=LB1181/> A cannon within the garden is said to have been a trophy from the [[Battle of Corunna]] brought to the Garden by Major General Geils, a previous owner of Geilston.<ref name="undiscoveredscotland.co.uk"/>

The kitchen garden is the most labour-intensive area. It springs to life in April with the first sowings of [[carrots]], [[parsnips]] and [[beetroot]] closely followed by transplanted [[brassica]]s. Visitors can buy in-season produce from a small stand at the garden's entrance.

The walled garden is the focus of spring colour with [[azalea]]s, [[Calluna|heathers]] and unusual shrubs such as ''[[Cornus kousa]]'' 'Satomi'. Summer colour is provided by the spectacularly vigorous species in the long herbaceous border – [[Thalictrum]], [[Filipendula]], [[Eupatorium]], [[Helenium]], [[Phlox]] and [[Sidalcea]] dominate the display.

The garden is open from April to October daily. The adjacent [[Geilston]] House is not open to the public.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Geilston Garden}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vk2Rc8fFz8 Video footage of the Geils Marriage Well]
*[http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/96/ Geilston Garden page on NTS website]

{{coord|55.9691|-4.6618|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

{{Portal|Scotland}}

[[Category:National Trust for Scotland properties]]
[[Category:Gardens in Argyll and Bute]]


{{Scotland-protected-area-stub}}
{{UK-garden-stub}}