Show Gardens legacy: relocation, reuse & repurpose

As part of the RHS Sustainability Strategy aim to become net positive within the decade, RHS Shows are constantly driving towards a lower carbon footprint

While the Green Audit works towards making the build of the Gardens as sustainable as possible, the Green Legacy looks to reduce waste by ensuring the Gardens have a life after the Show.

Since 2023 all RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gardens must have a plan to relocate, reuse or repurpose. The RHS Shows team gathers information on the Green Legacy, and this database is being added to regularly. Discover what happened to the Gardens, and the positive impact they have had on communities.

What’s involved?

Although a Garden is often built with a final home in mind and relocated there after the Show, there are many reasons why it is not always possible, or desirable to transport a Show Garden in its entirety. Sometimes, parts of a Garden will be repurposed, with plants being donated or sold. Occasionally hard landscaping is reused by the contractors on other projects.

In 2024, the RHS Chelsea Repurposed Garden repurposed elements from Show Gardens dating back as far as 2010.

See the RHS Chelsea Repurposed Garden

RHS Chelsea Repurposed Garden at RHS Chelsea 2024

Past RHS Chelsea Gardens

Discover their life after the Show

2024

Terrence Higgins Trust Bridge to 2030 Garden

Muscular Dystrophy UK – Forest Bathing Garden

St James’s Piccadilly: Imagine the World to be Different

Stroke Association’s Garden for Recovery

The Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond with the National Trust

The National Autistic Society Garden

The National Garden Scheme Garden

WaterAid Garden

Burma Skincare Initiative Spirit of Partnership Garden

Flood Re: The Flood Resilient Garden

Killik & Co: ‘Money Doesn't Grow On Trees’ Garden

The Boodles Garden

The Bridgerton Garden

The Freedom from Torture Garden: A Sanctuary for Survivors

World Child Cancer’s Nurturing Garden

Bowel Research UK Microbiome Garden

Planet Good Earth

Sue Ryder Grief Kind Garden

The Panathlon Joy Garden

The Pulp Friction – Growing Skills Garden

The Size of Wales Garden

2023

Savills: Plot to Plate Garden

Teapot Trust Elsewhere Garden

The Choose Love Garden

The Mary Anning Space to Learn Garden

The National Brain Appeal’s Rare Space

The RSPCA Garden

The Sadler’s Wells East Garden

The Doorstep Library Garden

The Fauna & Flora Garden

Explore more from 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.