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The Hidden Gardens
Welcome to the Hidden Gardens, Scotland's first permanent public garden for the 21st century and a visionary new landmark for Scotland. The Hidden Gardens are the result of a two year consultation and design process that have seen the transformation of a derelict industrial site on Glasgow's south side into a tranquil and inspirational haven.
Please take the time to explore our web site and find out more about the background to the project as well as information on up coming events
This text web site has been constructed to be as accessible as possible for those with visual impairment. Anchors are used to link menu items to areas of text.
Main Menu (click on a section title to be taken to a sub menu)
| Information | Design | Gallery | Get Involved | Events and Activities | Education | Partners |
Opening times
Winter opening times (October - April)
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 4pm
Sunday: 12pm - 4pm
Monday: closed
Summer opening times (May - September)
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 8pm
Sunday: 12pm - 6pm
Monday: closed
Entry to the Hidden Gardens is free
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Tours
Tours of the garden for groups and individuals are available on Wednesdays at 1pm or on request by groups throughout the year. Tours last between 30 - 40 mins and can be tailored to your specific interests (eg horticulture, garden design). To enable us to provide a trained tour guide, tours must be booked in advance.Facilities
Food and drink: Tramway's cafe bar is situated at the entrance to the Gardens and offers open views across the site. The cafe offers a varied menu of light snacks and hot and cold drinks. An outside seating area, an indoor children's play area and weekend newspapers make it an ideal place to relax and unwind.Toilets (including disabled toilets and baby changing facilities) are located within the cafe bar area.
Accessibility
The Hidden Gardens is fully accessible for people with disabilities
How to find us
The Hidden gardens are located in the Pollokshields area in Glasgow's southside.
The Gardens are accessible via Tramway (or from Pollokshaws Road via the pedestrian entrance) both entrances are signposted. If entering via the Pollokshaws road entrance please keep to the right on the pedestrian walkway, under the canopy on the Tramway building, as vehicles use the roadway.
Road
The M8 runs through the city, connecting north with the M80 and south with the M74 and M77. Exit at Junction 20 onto Cook Street and turn right at the main road into Eglinton Street. Continue up Eglinton Street, which becomes Pollokshaws Road for approx 3/4 of a mile and turn right into Albert Drive at St Ninian's Church. Limited street parking is available.Train
Tramway is only three minutes by train from Glasgow Central Station. Take the train to Pollokshields East Station. At the top of the stairs from the platform turn right, the Tramway building is on your right. Trains run approximately every 10 minutes. Train Line 08457 48 49 50.Bus
From Jamaica Street to Pollokshaws Road at the junction with Albert Drive, numbers 28, M29, 38, 45, 47, 48, 57, 59.
Travel Line Scotland 0870 6082 608Underground
The closest underground station to Tramway is Shields Road.Contact us
Telephone: 0141 433 2722
Email: info@thehiddengardens.org.uk
Links
nva organisation - http://www.nva.org.uk
Tramway - http://www.tramway.org
SAC - http://www.sac.org.uk
BTCV - http://www.btcv.org
Scottish National Heritage - http://www.snh.gov.uk
Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh - http://www.rbge.org.uk
Glasgow City Council - http://www.glasgow.gov.uk
Radio Ramadhan - http://www.radioramadhan.com| Return to 'information' sub menu |
Design sub menu | Background to Design | Site History | Artworks | Planting Principles |
Background to Design
the ethos
Gardens are universal and celebrated in many different ways throughout the world. The nature of the Hidden Gardens project is to embrace different ideas, rituals and forms from different cultures merging these ideas through the designers' and artists' work in relation to the specific demands of the site both spatially and physically.
The Hidden Gardens is dedicated to peace on all levels - personal, regional and international. It celebrates the universal spirit of nature, with subtle references to the paradise gardens that have evolved over the last three thousands years.
For a multiplicity of faiths throughout the worlds, a garden is symbolic of heaven on earth. It is also a quiet place for visitors to make time for themselves. The Hidden Gardens does not attempt to homogenise varying belief systems, but advocates an "equality of differences". It has been designed with a communal vision, in the spirit of mutuality. It aspires to describe the kind of world it would be good to live in, not the world as it is.
the process
The Hidden Gardens was developed over an extended period of time through a collaborative design process that involved arts charity nva organisation, landscape architects City Design Co-operative, a team of international artists and the local community in Pollokshields.
The starting point for the design programme, artworks and horticultural approach within the Gardens was the celebration of diversity in nature and humanity, and the promotion of a deeper understanding of nature through international horticultural traditions.
The result is a contemplative open space where the diverse communities of the city and visitors alike can find respite in a busy urban environment.
design principles
Our design process for the Hidden Gardens started with three questions:
What is paradise?
What is missing from this place?
What is specific to this place?These questions opened our dialogue with the community and our attempt to create a space that would have a contemporary resonance.
Religion and Landscape
The questions themselves arose from researching the relationship that has existed between religion and landscape in different places and at different times.This initial research revealed two kinds of relationship that we have referred to as the 'Transported' and the 'Specific'.
Both of these have been explored in the design of the garden.
The Specific
The 'specific' is a relationship between religion and landscape where belief is derived from place. Where a belief system has developed in response to a specific landscape.Many early cultures developed a set of beliefs that celebrate the landscape and invest it with spiritual meaning. This is common to (amongst others): Celtic, Hindu, Native American and Aboriginal culture. The Celts for example worshipped groves of trees as sacred places.
This is a celebration of a specific, given landscape. It places spiritual value on a particular hill, valley or tree.
The design of the Hidden Gardens celebrates the given landscape. Not hill or valley - but plant nursery, chimney and factory floor.
The Transported
The 'transported' is a relationship between religion and landscape where a landscape is created as a metaphor for a set of beliefs.The landscapes are often representations of idealised places from religious writings, the idea of the 'Paradise Garden' that is common to both Christian and Islamic tradition for example.
These created landscapes, contain metaphorical references. In pre-Islamic Indian gardens mandala and temples make reference to mountain and ocean. Islamic and Christian traditions include the idea of the quartered garden - marking the four cardinal directions. These gardens manifest powerful ideas.
If such references were to exist in the Hidden Gardens they had to have a resonance with local people whose roots linked Asian and Celtic traditions. A process of dialogue with the community over 24 months informed the design and the nature of the cultural references.
The aim has been to trace back common ideas and themes in relevant cultural and horticultural traditions and to express them in the garden.
The Hidden Gardens
The Hidden Gardens celebrates the 'given' landscape alongside the cultural traditions of the people who live around it.
The garden could not be anywhere else - it has developed very specifically in response to this site and this community.
Site History
Landscapes can be thought of as developing in layers - different things happening on the same piece of ground over time. The design of the Hidden Gardens expresses this layering. It incorporates references to the pre industrial and industrial life of the site - but perhaps most importantly seeks to express the desires of the people who live around the site now.
The past layers of the site are revealed in a number of ways. Preliminary investigations revealed that the Gardens are located on the exact site of a tree and plant nursery which provided plants for many famous parks and gardens in Britain, Holland, France and Canada during the first half of the 19th century. The north south lines of the trees and the planting within the Hidden Gardens echo the nursery layout that once existed.
The contemporary layer has been informed by discussions with many people, asking what they would like to see the site become. The answer was somewhere peaceful, a contemplative green place, somewhere safe and not vandalised.
Art Works
The garden has a number of artworks integrated within the overall design.
Inscribed texts - Gerry Loose
A series of poems and texts carved into five sandstone waymarkers. The numerical importance is based on many considerations: pertinent were the five pillars of Islam and the five sacred Hindu trees. The text is written on the round so that it can be read and interpreted in a number of ways, with the text on each stone relating to the others.Xylotheque - Alec Finlay
A library of the woodland, consisting of an open but roofed structure reminiscent of a Japanese renga platform. Through the centre grows a classic oak, surrounded by a library of wooden books detailing seventeen native species of Scottish trees.Hidden Worlds - Stephen Skrynka
A series of artificial protrusions that offer an intimate peephole into a hidden world, each is specifically cast in aluminium with a viewing lens at the tip.Broken circle - Julie Brook
Situated within the naturalised area of the garden, a circular line of moving water broken by a narrow stretch of ground. The placing of the water and ground on the same plane forms a play between the solid earth and the moving liquid.Overview - Divya Bhatia
Divya Bhatia has given a spiritual overview and a conceptual framework throughout the development of the garden, working with the team as a whole and as individuals. Central to his thinking is the idea that all aspects of life are in essence non-oppositional.Planting Principles
The horticultural approach to the Hidden Gardens developed in response to both the site and the community surrounding it.
The garden explores the idea of the movement of plants across continents: of provenance and displacement. Both native and exotic plants are used in a number of different ways throughout the garden:
The southern part of the garden is focused on native planting, a mix of trees and shrubs common to a west of Scotland birch and oak woodland
In the old factory floor, similar species of native and exotic trees are planted together in blocks to highlight both their common and unique qualities. Pines, rowans and hawthorns of both Scottish and asian origin are planted side by side.
Plants significant to different cultures and belief systems occur throughout the garden. Bamboos, rowans, magnolias, hazels, winter flowering plum trees - the choices of these plants came out of discussion with local people.
Along the boilerhouse walls, the focus is on flowering plants and fruiting or productive plants: herbs, apples, pears and figs.
Within the central open space a Ginkgo tree is planted. Gingko biloba grew worldwide some 160 million years ago, including Scotland and the countries of origin of many of the plants in the garden. It is both native and exotic. the Gingko, now virtually extinct in the wild exists here as a monument to common origins. It is planted on top of three stones from the summit of Mount Sinai: a place sacred to Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
The raised beds are a celebration of seasonal colour and exuberance alongside an abundant combination of edible herbs.
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Images
Click on a section to get a gallery in a new window.
| Pre-build |
| Construction |
| Garden |
| Events |
| Community |
Press
(The garden, design and artwork) . . . all works together well, but The Hidden Gardens is more than a sculpture park. In the centre is a gingko tree, the worlds oldest species . . . It balances the 100ft chimney which has been left as a landmark and which it will eventually equal in height . . . Like any new garden, this one will improve with age - but it is already an inspiration.
Caledonia August 03Words can't do justice to The Hidden Gardens. Photographs can't convey the atmosphere which has been created in this extraordinary space . . . The design is the product of a careful consideration of the site, the surrounding community, the past, the present and the future of the place . . . The Hidden Gardens is deeply spiritual and an extraordinary achievement . . . Don't take my word for it, go on, see for yourself.
Sunday Herald 22 June 03Such a space seems long overdue - with true community spirit, safe from the threat of vandalism and properly deliberately designed . . . what legacy are we going to leave as a testament to our time? . . . Good design should not sweep away the past completely. It should be like this space - integrating the spirit of a site, and bringing together the existing character and a new design . . .
Scotland on Sunday 22 June 03Visitors
A selection taken from the visitor books at The Hidden Gardens:
Somewhere to gather my thoughts. A Meikle Glasgow
Peaceful - Lovely idea. M. Croy Cathcart
Very peaceful and pretty, just what the Southside needs! H + M Patterson, Glasgow
A moment of peace in a so troubled world. June, Pollokshields
Could do with more peaceful and enjoyable places like this. Allan, Cumbernauld
What a haven. J Muir, Pollokshields
Delightful, Peaceful and Enjoyable. C Harold, Jordanhill.
Oasis from dereliction. Peaceful and beautiful - please continue. A. McGroarty
Wonderful and uplifting - Thank you. W Mackay
A marvellous idea and a space of peace and tranquillity indeed. Rudolf, Berlin
Beautiful and tranquil, fabulously done! T Weston Ashburton, Devon
I really like the combination of industrial and organic. Thanks M Hughes, Glasgow
A nice oasis in the middle of Glasgow. Linda. Vancouver, Canada
Magic place! Scott and Alice
Memorable as Adam (4 months) first felt the grass under his feet. Ann Marie, Laurence and Adam
Not before time, never forgotten. Ann
Interesting place! I Kolb Hannover, Germany
A lovely idea. - L Faulds. East Kilbride
Very Peaceful in such a troubled world.. This is the place to be. N Cassidy Crosshill
Brand new, by the way. Levan and Nicola, Pollok
Enjoyed our visit. Hope to come again. - Mary and Elizabeth. Glasgow
Good garden, not what I expected.
Amazing, I want my garden to be like that! M Cunning. Colchester
Nice idea. Good to know that there will always be a place for peace in the city. G Kerr
Excellent. I'll be here more often. N Allen. Glasgow
Nice and peaceful. Just what I needed. Look forward to watching it mature and grow! MacDougal. Shawlands
Totally amazing, even better than expected. R Matthew. Glasgow
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Friends of The Hidden Gardens
We are currently developing a Friends of The Hidden Gardens Scheme. If you would like to be kept up to date with developments, please join our mailing list by sending details to info@thehiddengardens.org.uk
Volunteers
The Hidden Gardens has a number of ways that you can support our work by volunteering your time and services. Most of them require only few hours work a week and very often you can vary the times you work in the Gardens to suit your own schedule. We provide induction training for all our volunteers and are happy to work with you to develop any particular skills or interests you may have.Community Feedback Team - Join our team of community members who are helping us to develop by giving us feedback on the Gardens, our events and workshops.
Tour Guides - Providing guided tours to members of the public and groups on request.
Garden Assistants - Help our Head Gardener keep the Gardens in prime condition with basic gardening work such as weeding and planting.
Events assistants - Help our Resource Manager with a range of administrative and organisational tasks relating to events and workshops in the Gardens.
Donations
The Hidden Gardens are always grateful to receive donations from the public to support our planting and programme developments. If you would like to find out about making a donation please contact us.| Return to 'get involved' sub menu |
Events Programme
Throughout the year the Hidden Gardens will host a range of exciting events and activities that you can get involved in.We are also able to accommodate requests for workshops from individuals and groups outwith of our planned programme. For further information, or to discuss this further, contact info@thehiddengardens.org.uk or phone 0141 433 2722
Workshop Programme
Workshops form a part of our education program, some recent workshops in schools were based around the 2003 Festivals of Light season, for further details of current workshop programmes please contact the Garden Resource Manager.| Return to 'events and activities' sub menu |
Education sub menu | Education Programme |Education Programme
The Hidden Gardens are currently developing an education programme for primary age children. If you would like to be kept up to date with developments please contact us (via the contact page in 'information').
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Partners sub menu| Partners List |Partners List
With thanks to our current partners:
Funders
Abbey National
The Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Fund
Arts and Business
Barclays
British Alcan Charitable Trust
British Council
Caram Trust
Clydesdale Bank
Entrust
Ernest Cook Trust
Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation
New Opportunities Fund - Fresh Futures Programme
Garfield Weston Trust
Glasgow City Council
Gulbenkian Foundation
Hansons Environment Fund
Hugh Fraser Foundation
Lloyds TSB Foundation
Mrs JBS Murray Charitable Trust
Northern Rock Foundation
Onyx Environmental Trust
Scottish Community Foundation
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Executive (Ethnic Minorities Grant Scheme)
Scottish Natural Heritage
The Binks Trust
The Craignish Trust
The Dulverton Trust
The Hope Scott Trust
The Lankelly Foundation
The Mary Andrew Charitable Trust
The Robertson Trust
Tramway
Visiting Arts
In kind Support
Endfield of Wilberfoss (Johnson's of Wixley)
Maclaren Nurseries - Uplawmore
Masons
Project Team
Armour Construction Consultants
City Design Co-operative
David Campbell Associates
Land Engineering
nva organisation| Return to 'partners' sub menu |