Greenbank Gardens

This was my third visit to Greenbank this year. A delightful ornamental garden within easy reach of the smokey hustle and bustle of Glasgow City Centre, Greenbank is one of those little treasures which hides away from the ignorant masses. For those seeking temporary respite from the pressures of modern living, places like Greenbank are there if you go looking for them. 

The garden as usual has been created around one of those big merchant houses typical of the 18th century. Built from the proceeds of tobacco and slavery, the house was built by Glasgow merchant Robert Allason in 1763. In recent times it was owned by W P Blyth from 1962 who created the ornamental garden we see today. It was finally donated by the Blyths to the National Trust for Scotland in 1976.

                                                                      Greenbank House

The garden itself has many features central of which is the Eros water fountain, there is also a pond with Carp. The garden can be a suntrap in summer and people can be found lazing around soaking up the rays. Although it gets its fair share of visitors, Greenbank is never crowded due to its peripheral location in the Glasgow area.

         Sundial Feature                 

   Dahlia

The borders can be really spectacular in the summer with Dahlias, Begonias and Roses presenting a dazzling kaleidoscope of colour. Allium Globemaster is a speciality here as they seem to appear as a floral centrepiece. There is also a rich variety of insect life which on a hot sunny day are really easy to capture in camera. Insects can be quite lazy in hot weather. In cooler conditions they move around a lot making photography more difficult.

Getting a good day for photography has been a lot harder this summer due to very wet and windy weather. So I managed to take the opportunity of a rare hot day to get out and visit Greenbank. One advantage of Greenbank is that it is well sheltered from the wind. Wind makes flower shots more difficult because the flowers sway and so maintaining focus is hard as the flower sways in and out of focus. This also causes blur if the shutter speed is low, perhaps because light is low. 

In fact when wind is prevalent it is better to dispense with the tripod, something I would normally recommend using and instead hand holding the camera so that you can quickly shift back into focus as the flower moves to a new position.  You must bear in mind the light conditions and so you may have to use a higher ISO in the camera or open up the lens aperture to get a faster shutter speed in order to prevent camera shake blurring the image.

Using flash is another alternative in dull conditions. A circular macro ring flash is very good for getting close to the subject. If you use a normal flash the light emitted from the flash can overshoot the subject, a flash that fits around the lens prevents that. While flash creates a very unnatural look for flowers, I prefer natural light wherever possible, it does work quite spectacularly with insects. The short duration of flash coupled with a small aperture setting of f16 is very good for freezing action.

   ←Get This 

  With This→     Example of ringflash mounted on camera

Photo Tip For The Day

While most amateur flower photographers don’t use a tripod on a dull day why not experiment with flash. Do this by setting your lens aperture to f11 or f16 and using flash as your main light. Depending on your equipment you may get away witha built in flash but if you are using a DSLR then try to get hold of a ringflash. You can usually find an inexpensive manual one for about £20 on ebay. Also try shooting some insects and see what you come up with. Results can be spectacular.

Summary

Greenbank Garden is one of my favourite places to visit. It is small but pretty and secluded and a great place for chilling out. Not difficult this summer. It has a small tea and coffee service but nothing elaborate and the staff are cheery folk.

Marks Out Of 10

Gardens 9/10

Flower Variety 9/10

Facilities 7/10

Refreshments 6.5/10

Note: This is my last garden visit of 2009 but I will post a photography update monthly throughout the winter. Cheero!