Greenbank Garden, Glasgow

The U3A gardening group had a day out on a garden visit a week or so ago.  It was on my birthday, but I didn’t tell!  There were only seven of us going in the end, so it was decided that we would take two cars.  Mine was one and Sheena’s the other.  Armed with instructions to get there we headed off on a beautiful sunny springlike day, first to the south edge of Edinburgh to meet Vanessa, then round the city by-pass and onto the motorway for the west. The instructions weren’t bad and after just one little hiccup when we sailed past the road-end we should have taken, having seen the directional sign too late!  Anyway we got there in due course!

First things first!  Cups of tea and coffee, in the tearoom in one of the small buildings next to Greenbank House,

where a beautiful patchwork quilt of the house was displayed. 

Then we made our way outside to the yard where various plants were for sale.  We decided to leave the shopping for later, and go round the gardens with one of the gardeners.  I say gardens because although it was one big rectangular garden it was divided up by hedges to appear like lots of smaller individual gardens… like going from room to room almost!  There are 600 varieties of daffodil in the gardens, and I’m sure I couldn’t tell the difference between some and others!  I got photos of quite a few though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful, aren’t they!

 

Then there were the hellebores – masses of them too, white, pink, green, purple, ruby…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

even an almost black flower. 

Those were the main flowers blooming then, but there were others, like the anemone blandas and the echinops.  I can’t remember which is which!  I may not even be right, with these photos!

I think these might be the echinops on the left, and the ones below, the anemones!

 

 

I can’t remember what these white flowers are, but they are so pretty.

In the greenhouse the fuchsias were looking wonderful  and these, climbing along the roof beams.  I haven’t a clue what they are but they are gorgeous!

Back in the garden I could hear beautiful bird song.  A robin? A dunnock?  Well I spotted the bird high on a twig of a tree, so zoomed in to take a photo, and I have zoomed in on the photo to get this view.  What is it?  It has a wren’s spotty wing flash and short tail, but the tail wasn’t sticking upwards – and besides it was too big for a wren.  Too early for a young robin and definitely not a dunnock.  Anyone able to solve the mystery?

Here’s our wee gang, by the way!  In a corner of the walled garden, with our gardener guide.

This lovely black cat had found a warm spot to laze around in but it didn’t think much of having its photo taken, so disdainfully got up, turned its back on us and high-tailed it through the hedge!

Well, I think I should stalk off just now too and continue this another day.  We got a bit of a look inside the house later and found some rather unusual flowers and a table set for tea!  All will be revealed – next time.

Talk again soon.