Tucked in a hidden nook of the grounds of Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children, the Elsewhere Garden has transformed what was once a purposeless grassed landscape into a playful refuge for patients and staff. The garden was commissioned by Teapot Trust, a charity bringing play and art therapy to chronically sick children. It was designed by Semple Begg, who chose a palette of plants to inspire creativity and imagination, for which they won a gold medal at RHS Chelsea in 2023. The planting was adapted for the Glasgow location, and further enhanced by a donation of plants from Dior’s Drummond Castle fashion show in June 2024. In the garden you’ll meet an array of colourful perennials, and the characterful Picea abies ‘Inversa’. The wide, snaking paths will take you by shady beds of ferns, sun-loving salvias, whimsical grasses, and candy-coloured blooms. Pause at one of the many seating spots and let your imagination roam – what do the plant forms conjure up for you?

If you, or someone you love, has been diagnosed with cancer, Maggie’s is here for you. Our centres are built in the grounds of hospitals, near to the NHS cancer centre. In every centre, you’ll find a bright and welcoming space full of the kind of support that people facing cancer need and deserve. Our centre in Glasgow is a striking, single storey building, designed by Rem Koolhaas. It is formed as a ring shape around a landscaped internal courtyard and is nestled among the woodland in the grounds of Gartnavel Hospital. The centre is a space for being together or for a moment alone, for getting going again or for meeting people who just get it. Our Cancer Support Specialists have expert knowledge about cancer and treatment. No appointment or referral is necessary, just come in. As well as expert support and guidance we also run a programme of therapeutic classes, workshops and courses. All our support is free. Lily Jencks, daughter of Maggie’s co-founders, Maggie Keswick Jencks and Charles Jencks, designed the internal courtyard plantings and the wooded glades areas surrounding the centre. 'Everything has been designed to show an enthusiasm for life and you need that when you’re fighting cancer – you need something to give you a bit of life and power.' Lily Jencks

Situated behind the main SWG3 warehouse building, it’s a surprise to walk up the steps leading to this space and be delighted by the sight of trees, grasses, shrubs and perennials making a beautiful garden where there was once only derelict land between two railway lines. The garden has wide paths curving through the beds and the various indigenous trees subtly define the shape of the garden. Apart from the interesting planting, this garden, which was designed by the horticulturist and garden designer Jeremy Needham, has beehives and two different heights of raised beds which are used by the local community as allotments. To celebrate Glasgow SGS 2025 Year of Children in The Garden there will be lots of children's events.

The community garden in Milton of Campsie is the creation of one man, covering roughly an acre of hillside beside the Glazert Water. A small beach area where otters and kingfishers can be spotted, is a great place for children to play at the water's edge or for water-loving dogs. The garden was conceived as a memorial garden and as you walk through the willow tunnel to the various sections you will come across memorandum and dedications. With no shortage of relaxing seating areas you can sit and enjoy the children's lawn (created for the local nursery) complete with a miniature gypsy caravan with inside fittings, or the ancient ruin with its chimney and barbecue. Children will enjoy running over the two bridges that cross the water lily pond (they may even spot a newt). The variety and ingenuity make this an unmissable garden.

Join Scottish presenter, school gardening champion and author Helen Cross in her own garden on the southside of Glasgow, which inspired her first book, Grow Cook Inspire. Helen's small but mighty garden, is a haven for wildlife and biodiversity and her garden illustrates that you don't have to have acres of land to be able to grow a wide range of fruit, vegetables, cut flowers and also have space to entertain friends and family. It is a garden jam packed with personality, colour and vibrancy and you'll leave feeling uplifted come rain or shine.

Carefully created by acclaimed garden designer and RHS Judge, James Alexander-Sinclair, Horatio’s Garden Scotland opened in 2016 and nurtures the wellbeing of people affected by spinal injury from across the whole of Scotland, their loved ones and NHS staff. The gardens provide a peaceful horticultural haven. Horatio’s Garden Scotland features a half acre woodland garden awash with striking seasonal blooms and framed by a beautiful collection of Betula pendula trees, as well as artfully planted borders, vibrant courtyard garden, gorgeous garden room, fragrant glasshouse and much more. There’s plenty to explore in this thoughtful, therapeutic garden; one which rarely opens to the public and is unusually nestled right in the heart of a Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS hospital.

The C-listed walled garden within King's Park would have served as a kitchen garden for the original James Hamilton estate in the 18th century, with colourful beds and borders and fruit trees. In recent years, Friends of King's Park have adopted the garden from Glasgow City Council with the aim of reinstating it to its former glory. The garden is split into quarters, two of which the Friends have planted with trees, shrubs, perennials and spring bulbs between 2022 and 2023. The east-facing bed has been planted with weeping cherry trees, underplanted with a selection of bulbs and a variety of perennials. The north-facing bed has a row of beautiful cherry trees. The south-facing wall will showcase cordons of a range of fruiting trees, which the Friends extended over winter 2023. We aim to further enrich the experience of visiting this garden and as a charitable organisation, will continue to raise funds to fully restore the walled garden.
Champion Trees: Yew trees (in main King's Park)

The multi-award winning gardens have been designed to reflect the legacy of this historic site as well as the ever-changing character and needs of the local area. The north to south borders echo the layout of the site when it was a nursery in the 1800s, supplying trees and shrubs to major gardens in Scotland, whilst the retained tramlines and the chimney reflect its industrial past. A number of artworks are integrated into the overall design, for example Alec Finlay’s Xylotheque, a library of wooden books detailing 17 native Scottish trees. The Hidden Gardens is an independent charity offering learning and social activities and opportunities for the whole community to participate in its development. It is a calm, green space where you can relax away from the busy city streets: take a meditative walk along the square route path around the formal lawn; brush past the aromatic herb border; admire the white wall border with its herbaceous plantings and espalier fruit trees; stroll through the wildlife area; connect with nature in the woodland glade; and enjoy the naturalistic planting of the grassy or wild flower meadows or buy some young plants propagated here. Volunteer-led guided tours are available to book during most of the year, for free.