RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
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RHS and RSPB join forces to champion swifts

The RHS is partnering for the first time with the RSPB to create a Show Garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2025

The RSPB and RHS Swift Garden has been designed in an exciting collaboration between landscape architect Lilly Gomm and horticulturist Coralie Thomas. It will bring to life one part of the migratory journey of one of the UK’s most remarkable yet threatened birds.  

Did you know...

Swifts are small but mighty, flying from the savannahs and forests of Africa to the towns and cities of the UK – and back again – each year. During its lifetime, a single swift can fly an astonishing two million miles – the equivalent of four round trips to the Moon.  

These magnificent birds spend nearly their entire lives in flight – eating, drinking, mating, bathing and even sleeping on the wing, and they depend on healthy insect populations and suitable nesting sites for their survival. Their numbers plummeted by 68% between 1995 and 2023, and they are on the UK Red List of birds of highest conservation concern. 

The Swift Garden aims to raise awareness of the species’ dramatic decline while celebrating their awe-inspiring journeys. It will represent the varied habitats that Swifts pass through on the UK part of their migration – including dry, damp, woodland, and flower gardens – and will highlight the importance of planting for biodiversity. By encouraging gardeners to grow diverse, insect-friendly plantings, the garden promotes practical steps everyone can take to support these birds, and much other wildlife besides. 

A key feature of the garden will be sculptural representations of their nesting sites – such as swift bricks – that can be introduced into domestic homes and other buildings to help swifts thrive. 

Illustration for the RSPB and RHS Swift Garden at RHS Hampton 2025
Lilly Gomm, landscape architect and garden designer, said: “I’m thrilled to be designing the RSPB and RHS Swift Garden with Coralie. These magnificent birds are a true symbol of summer skies and they need our help.”

By showcasing habitats rich in biodiversity and the small changes we can all make – like planting insect-friendly flowers or installing swift boxes – I hope visitors will feel inspired to take action for wildlife in their own gardens.

Lilly Gomm
Bill Bailey, comedian, said: “Swifts are majestic birds. I’m delighted to be joining forces with the RSPB and the RHS to bring attention to these incredible aerial acrobats, whose presence is such a joyful part of summer. Their dramatic decline is deeply worrying but there’s still a lot we can do to help.

This garden is not only a celebration of swifts but also a timely reminder that by making our homes and gardens more wildlife-friendly, we can all play a part in securing their future.

Bill Bailey

About the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)

The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, with 1.2 million members and 11,000 volunteers, all acting for nature. They protect and restore habitats and landscapes, save species and are helping to tackle the nature and climate emergency.

For over a century they have been a voice for birds and the natural world, inspiring and influencing millions through conservation, powerful partnerships and campaigning. Their network of over 200 nature reserves sits at the heart of world-leading science and conservation delivery. They want to see a shared world where wildlife, wild places and all people thrive.

Meet the designers

Lilly Gomm is a landscape architect and garden designer with studies in architecture and horticulture. Her work spans a variety of scales, from roof gardens on skyscrapers, public realm and commercial design to private residential gardens. Championing planting and the importance of green infrastructure is at the core of her work, with the objective to encourage

biodiversity and to support ecology within our cities, public spaces and gardens. Lilly’s passion for plants is built from years working as a private gardener as well as exploring planting types and styles through multiple RHS Flower Shows

Coralie Thomas is the Assistant Head Gardener at Great Dixter House and Gardens, where she initially trained as The Chanticleer North American Christopher Lloyd Scholar in 2016. She is a highly-skilled creative horticulturist who is passionate about working with teams of people to create plant-centric, exciting, and biodiverse gardens. She is also an RHS plant trials assessor, and regularly writes about plants for various gardening publications.

Lilly and Coralie first met when Lilly went to volunteer at Great Dixter. They have worked together over the past few years to collaborate on planting within Lilly’s residential designs. The RSPB and RHS Swift Garden is their first garden designed jointly from the outset and an exciting opportunity to bring together their diverse experiences over a shared love of experimental planting.

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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.