As the RHS Chelsea Flower Show returns this month, it’s impossible not to feel inspired by the creativity, craftsmanship and storytelling behind every show garden.
While Chelsea sets the global benchmark for garden design, what’s often less visible is everything that happens behind the scenes – the planning, problem-solving, and collaboration that brings these extraordinary spaces to life.
A few years ago, Laurel Hill Gardens experienced this first-hand when we designed and built an award-winning show garden for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), marking its 150-year anniversary. It was a project that meant a great deal to our team, not only in terms of design, but also because of the powerful message behind it.
Designing a Sensory Show Garden for the RNIB
The aim was to create a garden that could be experienced in more than just a visual way. We wanted it to feel immersive. So, planting was chosen not only for colour, but for texture, scent and movement too. Visitors were encouraged to slow down, reach out, and really connect with the space; something that felt quite special in such a busy show environment.
Interestingly, it wasn’t just people who were drawn in. The garden quickly became a hub for pollinators, with bees constantly finding their way into the planting. It was one of those moments where you realise a design is really working with nature, not just sitting within it.
Structurally, the garden was anchored by multi-stem Betula utilis var. jacquemontii, with its beautiful pale bark, alongside an avenue of Prunus serrula, chosen for its rich, polished texture. These elements gave the garden a strong sense of identity, even before the finer details were experienced.
Creating an Immersive Garden Experience Through Design
A straight pathway guided visitors through the space, allowing them to explore at their own pace. Along the way, corten steel screens created moments of pause, with carefully designed openings that simulated different eye conditions. It added a powerful, thought-provoking layer to the experience, encouraging a different way of seeing and understanding the garden.
At the centre, a more enclosed seating area offered a place to step away and simply be. Surrounded by planting and softened by gentle water features, it became a calm, quiet contrast to the energy of the show.
From the designer
“It was extremely rewarding working with Nelson Landscapes alongside the RNIB to create and experience this wonderful garden. From the outset, it was important to understand how different eye conditions can disrupt vision, affect depth, distance and 3D perception, while heightening other senses.
Successful, informed design is a balance of practicalities, such as seat height, path layout and safe planting, alongside elements that enhance the experience, like the gentle sound of water, soft textural planting and fragrance. The result was a garden that felt both social and restful, tactile and fragrant — and the fact that pollinators loved it as much as we did was a huge bonus.”
Behind the scenes, projects like this are a true collaboration of design, planning and passion, and we were incredibly proud to be awarded an RHS Silver Medal, as well as the People’s Choice Award for World and Show Gardens.
Inspired by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show? Let’s Design Your Garden
Looking at show gardens at events like the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival continues to influence how we design private gardens today.
The principles remain the same… thoughtful planting, strong structure, sensory detail and spaces that feel emotionally connected to the people who use them.
If you’re feeling inspired by this year’s show gardens and want to bring that level of design into your own outdoor space, we’d love to help.
If you’d like us to design your garden, get in touch with us today.
Call: 07714 088153
Email: paula@laurelhillgardens.co.uk
Explore the Full Show Garden Project
If you’d like to explore this award-winning RHS show garden in more detail, you can take a closer look at the journey from concept through to completion below:
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