Five of the plants starring in British Rainforest Garden at RHS Chelsea

The Wildlife Trusts share the secrets of a magical design with a mission

The Wildlife Trusts are sharing the names of five of the plants starring in their British Rainforest Garden, to inspire gardeners everywhere to embrace shade in their own gardens. The garden will be unveiled at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show from Tuesday 20^th to Saturday 24^th May.

The Wildlife Trusts’ show garden is funded by Project Giving Back and is part of a 100-year project, supported by the UK’s leading insurer, Aviva, to restore lush temperate rainforests to the wet western fringes of the British Isles to help wildlife and tackle climate change.

These rich, shady rainforests once covered a fifth of Britain, absorbing carbon and soaking up rainfall, but now they’ve been reduced to 1% across scattered patches of land.

According to the show garden’s designer, Zoe Claymore, bringing the dappled shade we love so much in our native forests into our gardens will be good for nature and create peaceful retreats for humans, too.

Computer generated graphic depicting The Wildlife Trusts' British Rainforest Garden coming to RHS Chelsea 2025, including several tall trees, a walkway with a wheelchair user at one end and another visitor sitting on a log just off the path. Also includes a small waterfall and mossy boulders around the edges.

Zoe Claymore says:

“Creating this show garden has reinforced for me the beautiful richness and tranquillity of our native forests. When it comes to our gardens, the key is to embrace what’s natural and local. If you have shade in your garden or even on a tiny balcony, don’t fight it, lean into it and enjoy it. It’ll save you time, money and effort if you choose plants which love their locations.”

Five of the plants native to British rainforests and featured in the garden are:

Silver birch: A single silver birch can support up to 300 insect species. If you buy a bare root tree, plant between November and March. If you have a smaller garden, a good alternative is a crab apple.
Cypress-leaved plait-moss: This pretty, tiny moss is one of several different varieties being featured in the garden. It likes free draining soil, so is great for rocks and crevices and if it finds a shady and wet spot, it will spread. Make sure any moss you buy hasn’t been taken from wild places.
Maidenhair spleenwort: This is one of many native ferns to choose from and another great choice would be the Male-fern. Be aware of size when planting to ensure your ferns work well with flowers in the border.
Cow parsley: This will do best in partial rather than full shade, so try to place it in an area that receives some sun.
Foxgloves: With their tall fronds of bell-shaped flowers, these wood-loving plants will add a shot of colour and are a magnet for bees. Just remember not to eat them!

©Mark Hamblin/2020VISION

A forest floor covered in fallen logs and trees, which are covered in moss

Moss covered trees © Lorne Gill Nature Scot / 2020VISION

©Tom Marshall

©Philip Precey

A foxglove in dappled sunlight in a woodland

Foxgloves in a woodland © Ben Porter

The Wildlife Trusts’ British rainforest programme manager, Stan Smith, says:

“British rainforests play a crucial role in addressing the twin nature and climate crises by storing carbon in the trees and soil, reducing flood risk, slowing the flow of water into towns and villages and providing safe homes to many varieties of our native wildlife, from birds such as wood warblers to much-loved pine marten and red squirrels.

“Our RHS Chelsea show garden is creating a wonderful opportunity for us to talk about the importance of these forests for all of our futures – and we hope a new generation of gardeners will be inspired by our mission and learn to love moss and shade.”

Explore our full RHS Chelsea Flower Show plant list

Editor's Notes

The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 940,000 members and 39,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. www.wildlifetrusts.org

Zoe Claymore

Zoe Claymore is a garden and landscape designer based in southwest London. From her studio, her small team crafts bespoke outdoor places that resonate emotionally with clients - while staying mindful of environmental responsibility. Named RHS Horticultural Hero 2023 and a triple award-winner at RHS Hampton Court, Zoe draws on personal, cultural, environmental, and artistic inspirations to shape her teams’ designs. A regular media contributor and public speaker, Zoe advocates for innovative, sustainable, and deeply personal landscaping solutions which stand the test of time. www.zoeclaymore.com

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025: the world’s greatest flower show will run from 20th - 24th May 2025 at London Gate, Royal, Hospital Road, Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, SW3 4SR. Find out more and book tickets here: www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show

The Wildlife Trusts’ British Rainforest Garden will be built by award-winning landscaping company Frogheath Landscapes. The plants are being grown by specialist nurseries and two Plant Heritage national collections are collaborating on the project, including members of the British Fern Society, and Stone Lane Gardens which is home to the national collections of birch and alder.

Project Giving Back is a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. PGB was launched in May 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on UK charitable fundraising - effects that have since been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.

PGB will fund 10 gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025 and intends to fund a total of 60 gardens inspired by a range of good causes from 2022 to 2026.

PGB aims to boost UK-based good causes by giving them an opportunity to raise awareness of their work at the high-profile RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as well as supporting the relocation of the gardens to permanent homes after the show where they can continue to benefit the charities and their communities. Find out more at www.givingback.org.uk.

Aviva is the UK's leading diversified insurer, operating in the UK, Ireland and Canada. They also have international investments in India and China. They help their 20.5 million customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong, they'll be there to put it right. They have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with their purpose of being 'with you today, for a better tomorrow'. In 2024, they paid £29.3 billion in claims and benefits to their customers. In 2021, they announced their ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. www.aviva.co.uk/