“The Woodland Trust’s inspiring and immersive garden is a vital reminder of what our irreplaceable ancient woodlands give us”
Dame Judi Dench
I. concept
Taking inspiration from the Woodland Trust’s Forgotten Forests campaign, the garden represented the gradual transition from monoculture conifer plantation back towards a regenerating native woodland.
The design explored the often-overlooked potential that remains beneath plantations established on ancient woodland sites. Although the original woodland may appear to have disappeared, fragments of its ecology can survive within the soil, seed bank and remaining woodland flora.
Throughout the garden, dense and regimented planting gradually opened into a lighter and increasingly diverse woodland community, reflecting the long-term restoration work undertaken by the Woodland Trust.
Ancient woods are among the UK’s richest habitats, supporting an extraordinary diversity of plants, fungi and wildlife while holding centuries of cultural and ecological history. The garden sought to draw attention to the fragility of these landscapes and the importance of protecting and restoring those that remain.
At its heart, Forgotten Forests offered a hopeful view of regeneration: demonstrating how, with careful management and time, damaged ancient woodland can begin to recover.
II. MATERIALS
A restrained palette of natural materials helped root the garden within the character of the British woodland landscape.
Gritstone from the Peak District formed a series of dry stone walls inspired by those traditionally found along woodland boundaries. The walls provided structure within the garden while allowing the surrounding ground to rise and fall naturally around them.
Rather than treating the stonework simply as a hard landscape element, the walls were designed as living structures. A planting matrix was designed to showcase native species emerging through joints and crevices, reflecting the way vegetation naturally colonises old walls, rock faces and woodland edges.
III. Planting
The planting celebrates native woodland flora, with a particular focus on ancient woodland indicator species—plants that tell the story of long-established woodland landscapes and are increasingly threatened by woodland loss across the UK. Alongside trees and ground flora, the garden will also highlight lichens and mosses, vital yet often overlooked indicators of ancient woodland that are themselves under growing pressure.
For the first time at Chelsea, all trees within the garden were 100% sown and grown in the UK, underlining the critical importance of biosecurity in protecting our remaining ancient woodlands. By prioritising UK-grown plants, the garden demonstrates how thoughtful sourcing can help reduce the risk of introducing devastating non-native diseases such as Dutch elm disease and ash dieback.
Trees and shrubs
- Field maple (Acer campestre)
- Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
- Silver birch (Betula pendula)
- Hazel (Corylus avellana)
- Wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana)
- Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)
Ferns
- Common polypody (Polypodium vulgare)
- Maidenhair spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes)
Grasses, sedges, rushes
- Wood melick (Melica uniflora f. albida)
- Grey sedge (Carex divulsa)
- Pendulous sedge (Carex pendula)
- Quaking grass (Briza media)
Perennials
- Ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi)
- Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
- Pignut (Conopodium majus)
- Water avens (Geum rivale)
- Red campion (Silene dioica)
- Common valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
- Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
- Common comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
- Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum)
- Yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon)
- False lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum bifolium)
- Herb paris (Paris quadrifolia)
- Navelwort (Umbilicus rupestris)
