RHS Resilient Garden – Supported by ACO

The RHS Resilient Garden is the physical manifestation of the virtual garden detailed in Tom Massey’s book of the same title to demonstrate how our gardens and green spaces can be more adaptable in a warming climate and resilient in the face of extreme weather events such as heatwaves or heavy rainfall.

The garden has been designed to slow the movement of surface water to stop mains sewers being overwhelmed and to harvest rainwater to irrigate planting and provide habitat and shelter for wildlife. The garden is full of biodiversity and has different areas that display various conditions.

The sunny and dry front garden features plants chosen to cool the space and reduce harmful air pollution, and includes Agapanthus, Eremurus, dwarf pines and low-growing scabious and euphorbias sprouting from crushed concrete.

The rear garden is designed to be immersive and engaging, with a ‘food forest’ planting scheme to encourage a deeper connection with nature, and foster a creative and playful way to grow your own whilst also supporting wildlife. Plants include Aronia prunifolia ‘Nero’, Angelica gigas, liquorice, pomegranate and wild strawberry, with pops of colour from Lythrum virgatum ‘Dropmore Purple’ and yellow Hemerocallis.