SIX Glasgow parks are flying the flag for the Dear Green Place.
Last year, the city council put forward three parks for a national scheme which recognises high standards.
Bellahouston, Glasgow Green and the Botanic Gardens all succeeded in being awarded a Government Green Flag.
Each park has to apply and be assessed annually and all three have managed to hold onto the accolade this year – along with a further three city parks.
Kelvingrove, Queen's Park and Pollok Country Park have also achieved Green Flag status after being judged on eight, tough criteria.
These include being a welcoming place which is healthy, safe and secure, is clean and well maintained, considers conservation and heritage and involves the community.
The Green Flag Award is regarded as the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces.
Jim Coleman, the city council's land and environment spokesman, inset left, said: "I am delighted six of our best loved parks have been recognised with this prestigious award.
"Glasgow is rightly famous for its parks and they play a large role in the lives of many Glaswegians.
"All six parks have fantastic facilities which I am sure will continue to attract many people."
Until the late 19th Century, Bellahouston Park, which covers 180 acres, was rural farmland.
Glasgow Corporation bought the land in 1895 and it opened as a public park the following year.
Bellahouston has been used for a number of major events, including the 1982 visit to Scotland by Pope John Paul II and the 2010 mass of Pope Benedict XVI.
It is home to Bellahouston sport centre, the Palace of Art Sports for Excellence Centre, Glasgow Ski Centre and the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed House for an Art Lover.
Glasgow Green, which dates back to the 15th Century, is the city's oldest park.
King James II granted the land to the people of Glasgow in 1450 and for its first few decades is was used as a grazing area and an area to wash linen.
At Christmas 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie's army camped on Flesher's Haugh, which would later become part of the park, and in 1765 engineer James Watt had his 'eureka' moment regarding steam power while walking on the Green.
The park is also the site of the first monument in Britain to commemorate Admiral Nelson's victories.
The Doulton fountain, part of the 1888 International Exhibition, was moved to the Green in 1890 and the People's Palace was opened in 1898.
The Botanic Gardens were created in 1817 and became a city park in 1891.
One of the features of the gardens is the Kibble Palace glasshouse, which was brought up the Clyde from Coulport, on Loch Long, and erected in its current location in 1873.
Kelvingrove, which covers 85 acres, was created as a park in 1852 and is home of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
The park will be the venue for the bowling competition at the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
The largest monument in the park is the Stewart Memorial Fountain, built to honour Lord Provost Robert Stewart and his achievement in providing the city with fresh water from Loch Katrine.
Queen's Park was developed in the late 19th Century for the growing population in the South Side of the city and dedicated to Mary, Queen of Scots.
It boasts a large glasshouse and offers views far to the north, east and south.
Prior to the building of the M77 motorway, Pollok Park was the largest urban green space in Europe and in 2008 was named the best park in Europe.
The parkland and Pollok House were donated to the council in 1966 by former owner Anne Maxwell Macdonald.
The Burrell Collection is housed in a purpose built museum in the park, which is also home of an award winning herd of Highland cattle.
In the early 1990s, the park was the site of a protest camp attempting to halt the motorway plan.
vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk