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Silk Road Garden, Chengdu, China

A garden of contrasts, with colourful sloping beds of rhododendrons and peonies on one side and foliage, shrubs and grasses on the other intersected by a spine of red blades representing the mountainous landscape of the Sichuan Province

Show Gardens

At the show

  • Multi-stemmed Viburnum rhytidophyllum thread throughout the garden
  • All the plants have their origins or parentage in China
  • A rill runs down into gentle pools falling in to a gravel area with bog planting

From the garden

The Silk Road Garden is inspired by the rich history and culture of Chengdu, capital of the ancient Chinese Shu kingdom, and since ancient times known as ‘the abundant land’ thanks to its fertile soil and favourable climate.

The garden combines architectural and planting design in a conceptual depiction of the different landscape features of Chengdu and the surrounding Sichuan Province. In contrasting planting environments it showcases some of the many garden plants familiar in the West that have Chinese origins.

At the heart of the garden the symbol of the 3,000 year old Sun and Immortal Bird legend of Chengdu lies on a central theatrical plaza. A ‘silk road’ path runs the length of the garden, celebrating the commercial, cultural and horticultural legacy of the historic Silk Road trade route, and the Su-Embroidery masters of Chengdu.

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.