RHS Garden For A Green Future

In more detail

• Plants have been chosen for their resilience, including topiarised field maple (Acer campestre), Koelreuteria paniculata and Acanthus mollis
• Moisture-loving planting such as pollarded willows (Salix), Rodgersia and Persicaria thrive in the damper, lower-lying parts of the garden

About the garden

The RHS Garden for a Green Future draws attention to the impact that the changing climate is having on UK gardens and gardeners. The future of the quintessential British garden is changing and this design shows us how our gardens may look in the not too distant future. Alongside it demonstrates ways in which we can adapt to, and embrace, the changing climate.

Our gardens need to be versatile and filled with plants able to cope in diverse weather conditions including harsh summer heat and lengthy periods of winter wet. Visitors have the opportunity to draw inspiration from this dynamic space, taking planting and landscaping ideas home for use in their own garden.

Mounding landforms undulate throughout the space, and are planted with drought-tolerant perennials and tough meadow mixtures. These are broken up with ‘rivers’ of water that fill during winter flooding, but in July are mostly dry, arid areas where only cobbles, shingle, pebbles and self-sown flowers subsist. Beautiful, characterful multi-stem trees create dappled shade and distinctive structure.

Cocooned seating areas are nestled among dense planting and rolling landforms.

• Download the full plant list used in this garden (606 kB pdf)