 Geilston was opened to the public with the death of the last resident, Margaret Bell, who was a friend of Elizabeth Hendry, the owner of Geilston who bequeathed the house to the National trust for Scotland and gave her friend life rent of the house.The Hendrys moved into Geilston as tenants but the family bought the house from the Geils in 1922.The garden as it appears today was mostly laid out by Elizabeth Hendry and Margaret Bell.