RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Back

Delve deep into RHS Chelsea Flower Show’s Houseplant Studios, sponsored by Malvern Garden Buildings

This year’s studios promise immersive sensory experiences, enveloping visitors in a cocoon of lush foliage and delicious scent. Worship at the altar of nature, soothe the senses and embrace caring for your plants as the perfect tea-break de-stress

Snaking through Ranelagh Gardens are the Houseplant Studios, sponsored by Malvern Garden Buildings. A Show favourite, with visitors looking for indoor inspiration and houseplant advice. Each garden building houses a different design theme and is judged for a prestigious RHS medal.

As increasing numbers of gardeners only have indoor spaces to grow, the category has grown in ambition to explore the origins of many traditional houseplants and look at how we can incorporate them into our lives and our homes. This year the Houseplant Studio designers have created aspirational spaces, which invite visitors to experience being surrounded in nature inside as well as out, all with a delicious touch of whimsy and wonder.

Babylon Beats

by James Whiting of Plants by There and The Little Botanical

Babylon Beats
 
Babylon Beats is a contemporary interpretation of The Hanging Gardens of Babylon in a vibrant immersive and interactive display. Houseplants envelope the structure, cascading down the walls, hanging from the roof and emerging from the ground and sprawling across an outdoor feasting table, laid in tribute to the five Babylonian gods of the earth, wind, sky, fire and sea.

Inside the houseplant studio, is a sensory shrine to nature and the five ancient elements represented in plant form. Visitors are invited to choose an element and pay it tribute by adding a colourful offering to a small pool in front of the building. As the Show week progresses, the pool will become a riot of colour and will reflect the most worshipped elements.

Plants in the Studio

Dypsis lutescens (areca palm)
Strelitzia nicolai (bird of paradise).
Howea forsteriana (kentia palm)
Using light, sound, scent and texture, Babylon Beats transports visitors away from the bustling showground to a more secluded space where they feel connected to the plants around them.

The Sensory Retreat 

By Pippa Jameson of The Sensory Home and Beards & Daisies

The Sensory Retreat
The Sensory Retreat is designed as a multi-sensory home sanctuary, where plants are not just decorative but play an active role in shaping mood, reducing stress, and enhancing well-being. It showcases how a small, plant-filled corner of a home can become a peaceful, restorative escape-whether for relaxation, work, or social connection.

The studio is divided into five sensory zones, each focusing on a different element of sensory experience:

Sight – Memory wall and botanical display. A visually calming and layered botanical display, featuring pressed plants, botanical artwork, and sculptural greenery.
Smell – ‘Smell Me’ fragrance wall. A lush vertical garden of aromatic plants, including lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus, designed to engage the sense of smell through interaction.
Touch – Sensory nook and chillout corner. A cocoon-like retreat, featuring soft, plush seating and tactile plants such as lamb’s ear, ferns and moss.
Taste – ‘Eat Me’ herb garden. A playful vertical herb garden, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, featuring basil, chocolate mint, and spicy oregano.
Sound – Outdoor water feature and whispering grasses. A natural soundscape created by tall ornamental grasses swaying in the breeze and a gentle water feature.

Plants in the Studio

Lavandula (lavender)

Nephrolepis exaltata (Boston fern)

Pennisetum (fountain grass)

Inspired by the designers experiences of autism and dyslexia, The Sensory Retreat integrates sensory design principles, to create spaces that support, rather than overwhelm, our senses.

The Roots of Wellbeing

by Botanic York

The Roots of Wellbeing
The Roots of Wellbeing studio is a cosy and comfortable space to live and work in retreat from the chaos of modern life. Trailing plants fill the walls and dangle from the ceiling to create a feeling of being immersed in plants. Visitors brush past curtains of greenery to enter the inside jungle where plants are used to delineate an office or workspace.

Plants in the Studio

Sansevieria trifasciata (snake plant)
Ficus microcarpa (bonsai ficus)
Jasminum polyanthum (jasmine)
Herbs with soothing aromas, and restful music create a calming ambiance. Inside blends seamlessly with the outdoor space with fragrant living walls and a central station with potted herbs either side of a standing computer workstation, to enable outside working. There’s a freestanding sink and a dedicated area for plant care or just a place to make a cup of mint tea while pottering, gardening and just hanging out.

The TerrariROOM

by Hugo & Green

The TerrariROOM
In The TerrariROOM, you can imagine stepping into an immersive terrarium which explores the botanical art of creating an indoor jungle. A sweeping carpet of blue star ferns starts outside the building, with greenery enveloping the floor and walls, leading inside.

Plants in the Studio

Phelbodium aurum (blue star fern)
Philodendron spp.
Monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant)
Feature plants hang from trees in kokedama (moss balls that act as a pot for the root ball) and mature plants stand above a carpet of ferns, inviting visitors deeper into the foliage. Plant selection and placement show how to make plant care easier, with grow lights reducing the need for proximity to a window. Kokedama demonstrations show visitors how to recreate the look at home.

Save to My scrapbook

What’s on at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

What’s on at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

Delicious food and drink at the Show

Delicious food and drink at the Show

Get involved

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.