Imperial Gardens

Miscanthus sinensis 'Kleine Silberspinne'
Cheltenham

I work in Cheltenham a couple of days a week, and the last leg of my long journey takes me through a park called Imperial Gardens. I love walking through it, and often have the place to myself. It’s laid out in the traditional Victorian style, with thousands of bedding plants, and always looks always immaculate. Come the evening, when I do my journey in reverse, the park is full, with groups of people lounging on the grass.

The planting around the statue of Gustav Holst is a complete contrast to the bedding displays – it’s mostly grasses, predominantly (I think) Miscanthus sinensis ‘Kleine Silberspinne’, with some Stipa tenuissima in there too. They’ve been steadily getting better and better since early summer, and are really coming in to their own now.

The park is currently one of the venues of the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and much of it is covered by festival marquees. I don’t think the lawns will look quite as immaculate when the festival has finished.

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