The Wildlife Trusts are creating a British Rainforest Garden, designed by award-winning Zoe Claymore, for RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. The garden will evoke the lush, wet woodlands that once swathed vast areas of the west coast of the British Isles and is sponsored by grant giving charity, Project Giving Back, and supported by insurer, Aviva.  

By bringing the enchantment of temperate rainforests to RHS Chelsea Flower Show, The Wildlife Trusts hope to inspire people to support the restoration of this threatened habitat and show how nature-friendly gardening can help British wildlife thrive.  

The Wildlife Trusts and Aviva have been working together since 2023 on a mission to bring rainforests back to the British Isles. The British Rainforest Garden will tell the story of this precious habitat that once blanketed a fifth of the country but now only covers about 1% of the land – and the work underway to recover it.  

The garden will immerse visitors in verdant fronds beneath dappled sunlight, to the bubbling sound of flowing water. People can linger among lichened boughs of birch and delight in mounds of mosses beside a tumbling waterfall. A rare Royal fern will froth amid bursts of blue, yellow and pink provided by bluebells, marsh marigolds and foxgloves. Features include: 

• A raised wooden walkway which will snake across the garden, transporting visitors over moss-covered ground past a tumbling waterfall 

• A silver birch tree will lean over the wooden walkway at a dramatic angle – a naturally occurring feature to symbolise nature’s resilience in the face of adversity 

• A fern and moss wall will span the entire 8 metre width of the garden, covered in many species of ferns and mosses, and draped in ivy 

The garden will be in the All About Plants category and its focus will be on celebrating the plants found in Britain’s temperate rainforests today. Two members of Plant Heritage national collections will lend plants – the British Pteridological Society and Stone Lane Gardens, which is home to the national collection of birch and alder. 

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says: 

“We’re thrilled to bring the wonder of British rainforests to RHS Chelsea Flower Show with Project Giving Back. People are always amazed when they see the astonishing range of magical mosses and fantastic ferns that call our rainforests home, as well as the other wildlife that depends on them, like the pied flycatcher. They are truly awe-inspiring places.   

“We’re privileged to work with Zoe whose interpretation of these special places aims to inspire people to support our work to restore rainforests. It is part of a huge mission by The Wildlife Trusts and Aviva to turn the tide on the UK’s nature and climate crises.”  

Zoe Claymore, award-winning garden designer, says: 

“I’ve felt a deep personal connection to British rainforests since my childhood and have many happy memories playing amongst the rocks, stream and moss boulders at my grandparents’ house by the Lydford Gorge. Visiting Devon Wildlife Trust’s Dart Valley nature reserve as part of my research for the garden felt like going home. Plants have provided me with such a safe, healing connection in difficult times, and I hope this garden can inspire others to find their own healing relationship with nature. 

“There are around 23 million gardens across the UK, which, if designed right, can play a central role in nature’s recovery – particularly in urban areas. Small spaces like our British Rainforest Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show will show how people can use what they have and embrace their local climate when creating a garden – allowing themselves and wildlife thrive, no matter where they live.” 

Claudine Blamey, Aviva Chief Sustainability Officer, says:  

“Working with The Wildlife Trusts to bring the experience of British rainforest to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year is a wonderful moment in our partnership to re-establish this incredibly rare and beautiful habitat across the UK. 

“These enchanting ecosystems are usually only found on the west of the UK so giving visitors the opportunity to experience the wonder of British rainforests is really exciting and I hope inspires people to consider how they can support nature restoration.” 

Alex Denman, Trustee of Project Giving Back, says:  

“As gardeners we can do so much to support the revival of temperate rainforests and to encourage a wealth of British wildlife to thrive. I can’t wait to see The Wildlife Trusts’ British Rainforest Garden at RHS Chelsea 2025 and know that show visitors will leave feeling inspired and empowered to garden in harmony with nature. Project Giving Back is really proud to be supporting this garden at the show this year.” 

The garden is sponsored by Project Giving Back and supported by Aviva. Visitors are invited to see the garden throughout Chelsea week from Tuesday 20th May to the final day on Saturday 24th of May 2025.  

Aviva and The Wildlife Trusts have begun restoring rainforests down the west coast, from Skiddaw in Cumbria and Bryn Ifan in North Wales, to Bowden Pillars in Devon. For more information, see Temperate Rainforest Restoration | The Wildlife Trusts.