RHS Chelsea to champion mindfulness in its small space gardens

by Bethany Vann | 27 Jan 25 | Garden Design, News, RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Spaces designed to promote mindfulness will take the spotlight in the Balcony and Container Gardens category at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Each of the category gardens will aim to inspire visitors of the ways gardening can support their wellbeing, from colour therapy to connecting with water.

MS Amlin Peace of Mind Garden

Colour psychology is at the core of Hamzah-Adam Desai’s design, with its colour wheel inspired planting scheme.

Shades of green will feature throughout the garden, a colour commonly associated with nature and wellbeing, with the intent of creating a calm and restorative atmosphere.

Purples and blues are to be used to invoke peace and harmony, while reds, yellows and oranges will aim to energise and uplift visitors.

The Navium Marine: Blue Mind Garden

Designed by Pro Landscaper 30 Under 30 alumni Ashleigh Aylett, will facilitate a sense of calm through closeness with water.

Coastal planting will offer resilient flora in muted blue and green tones, while floor tiles and pots will be created from discarded seashells and repurposed ocean materials.

Ripple-effect cladding will mimic the flow of water, reflecting light in wave-like forms, whilst a water feature creates soothing sounds beside a reflective pool.

A Space to Read Balcony Garden sponsored by Viking

Designed by duo Freddie Strickland and Ben Gifford, the garden will showcase a biophilic design centred around a flowering Cornus kousa.

The MS Amlin Peace Of Mind Garden, designed by Hamzah-Adam Desai © RHS / Hamzah-Adam Desai
Navium Marine; Blue Mind Garden, designed by Ashleigh Aylett © RHS / Ashleigh Aylett
A Space To Read Balcony Garden sponsored by Viking, designed by Freddie Strickland and Ben Gifford © RHS / Freddie Strickland and Ben Gifford

The Room to Breathe Hospital Garden for the TSA

Jen Donnelly and Catherine Gibbon’s design will serve as a restorative retreat for caregivers, featuring a soothing palette of greens and whites symbolising tranquillity, with splashes of burgundy representing resilience.

Secret Base – The another green room

Designed by Jun Ishihara – son of decorated RHS Chelsea garden designer, Kazuyuki Ishihara – the garden will aim to immerse visitors and awaken their senses to prompt imaginative possibilities, through a hideaway of trees and the sound of water.

Fettercairn Wilderness Retreat

Design trio Sally Giles, Sonia Kamel and Helier Bowling’s aim to showcase the potential even the smallest outdoor spaces can have.

Surrounded by wild and verdant planting reminiscent of the Cairngorms landscape, the garden will echoe the grassy heathland, rocky outcrops and mossy glens where visitors can connect with the extreme elements to improve resilience.

The Room to Breathe Hospital Garden for the TSA, designed by Jen Donnelly and Catherine Gibbon © RHS / Jen Donnelly and Catherine Gibbon
Secret Base - The another green room, designed by Jun Ishihara © RHS / Jun Ishihara
Fettercairn Wilderness Retreat, designed by Sonia Kamel, Sally Giles and Helier Bowling © RHS/Sonia Kamel/Sally Giles/Helier Bowling

Komorebi Garden

From the Scottish wilds to the Japanese forests of Nagano, Masa Taniguchi’s design will house a luminescent experience, as light pierces through the tree canopy.

C6 garden

Joshua Fenton’s brings together carbon sequestration, water recycling and wildlife gardening to create a calming, but sophisticated space.

The garden will be able to store 450 litres of rainwater and ssequester 1200 kilograms of carbon with elemment like bio char.

The ME + EM City Garden

Designed by Caroline and Peter Clayton, for the working woman. With planting designed to catch the glow of the late afternoon sun—offering a soothing retreat for the senses.