Native to the British Isles, temperate rainforests were believed to have covered around 20% of Britain. Now, remnants of these forests cover less than 1% of our nation.  

The need for timber and space for farmland and urban development is accredited to their devastating decline over the years.  

Now the fragments that remain are at risk from pests, diseases and invasive species, pesticides and pollution, overgrazing and the effects of climate change.

Garden and landscape designer, Zoe Claymore

But hope is not lost for these precious habitats – thought to be rarer than its tropical counterpart, – The Wildlife Trusts and Aviva have embarked on an ambitious 100 year journey to restore 1000s of hectares of these woodland habitats. 

And what better way to raise awareness than with a show garden on the main stage at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show later this month.  

Designing a pocket sized Dart Valley 

Designed by award-winning garden and landscape designer Zoe Claymore, The Wildlife Trusts’ British Rainforest Garden will feature in the All About Plants category. 

Rewind to Claymore’s formative years she recalls spending her holidays playing within the temperate woodlands – not realising back then “they were even a rainforest!” 

She accredits these memories and the work undertaken by The Wildlife Trusts as the inspiration behind her design; with the garden echoing the geographical elements of Dart Valley, Devon.   

“The stream feature in the garden follows the trajectory of the main river in that valley – the River Dart. While much of the stone and trees have all been sourced from a tight geographical area for provenance and ecological accuracy. 

“I’m basically bottling down a valley into a domestic sized space.” 

Show gardens are akin to theatre sets, notes Claymore, “they’re not necessarily designed to be ‘practical’”, but for this particular project she’s “bringing out her inner diva”.  

“They of course need to be usable for the week, but the emphasis is on inspiring wonder with people. Therefore, this design is all about drama – but with a usable walkway through the site. The dimensions and form though are pushing the physics to the limits.”  

Grateful to be working with Frogheath Landscapes, which will be building the garden, Claymore says “the garden would be nothing without them!”  

The level of collaboration throughout the pre-show stage is obvious from the way Claymore speaks, noting that Steve Moody, managing director of Frogheath has been “experimenting a lot at the yard to figure out the best way to do things.” 

Building with drama and practicality in mind  

Creating a show garden is no small feat, let alone bottling a whole Valley into a tight space – that is sure to come with its challenges, but as Moody says, “there are always lots of challenges, but that’s the fun of it!” 

He and the team have been working to ensure despite its temporary nature and location, the garden remains accessible and authentic to the source inspiration.  

The temperate garden is being created with zero concrete, “virtually no plastic (save the water pump)”, says Claymore, and no ‘man made materials’.  

“It is essentially an artful pile of reclaimed natural stone, reclaimed wood, peat free compost and plants.” 

With just a couple more weeks to go until the big show, Moody is happy to share that “lots of the elements were built several times over”, helping the team to experiment with what works and how.  

The Wildlife Trusts’ British Rainforest Garden designed by Zoe Claymore

Keeping the moisture up and the temperature down  

Both Claymore and Moody mention the critical need to keep the garden irrigated and “feeling like a rainforest in a temporary setting, with no shade in the middle of London!” He notes that they are working with suppliers, like Landscapeplus to provide “irrigation and misting to keep the plants fresh throughout the show.” 

As the name suggests, gardens in the All About Plants category are majority made up of softscape, using harder elements to compliment and guide the planting.  

“I was inspired by the woodlands to do an ID study of them as the starting block for inspiration alongside reflecting on if I translated this garden to a domestic setting what would be possible for someone and possible for someone to source at home.” 

A key species mentioned by both parties is moss, a plant commonly found throughout rainforests. At the RHS Spring Conference Press Event earlier this year, Claymore was quick to defend moss (and rightly so), noting how “it’s often unfairly overlooked.”  

Moody adds the team and Claymore have “spent a lot of time looking at how the plants naturally grow in the Dart Valley and trying to replicate that voluptuous, almost “over the top” look, but how they would appear in nature has been tricky.” 

Debuting at RHS Chelsea

While The Wildlife Trusts’ British Rainforest Garden marks her debut at RHS Chelsea, this is not Claymore’s first venture into the world of show gardens, and it’s not even the first time Claymore has partnered with The Wildlife Trusts for a show garden. 

Back in 2023 Claymore designed The Wildlife Trusts’: Renter’s Retreat garden, a space dedicated to highlighting ways to support the natural colonisation of local wildlife in residential gardens, employing transient tenant friendly features. 

Claymore took home a hat-trick of awards for the garden; Best Get Started Garden, People’s Choice Best Get Started Garden, and a Gold medal. 

Now she’ll be taking to the grounds of Chelsea, which she describes as “Hampton Court on steroids”, to showcase the critical need for rainforest restoration across the UK – one of the most biodiverse habitats found in the UK.  

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  Zoe Claymore winning the award for Best Get Started Garden at RHS Hampton Court in 2023

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  The Wildlife Trusts: Renters' Retreat. Designed by Zoe Claymore. RHS / Tim Sandall

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  The Wildlife Trusts: Renters' Retreat. Designed by Zoe Claymore. Credit: The Wildlife Trusts

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show takes place later this month on 20 – 24 May.