Saving Britain’s garden plants
Plant Heritage’s debut RHS Chelsea garden highlights the urgent need to protect disappearing cultivated plants while inspiring gardeners to become future National Plant Collection holders and Plant Guardians.
A Garden With Purpose
Plant Heritage will make its RHS Chelsea Flower Show debut in 2026 with a garden carrying an important conservation message. The Plant Heritage Missing Collector Garden shines a spotlight on the growing threat facing cultivated garden plants across the UK.
A Crisis In Cultivated Plants
The charity’s Threatened Plants Programme has revealed that more than half of cultivated plants once grown in the UK and Ireland are no longer commercially available. Many now survive in just one or two locations.
Inspiring Future Custodians
Designed by the Planting Design Collective, the garden aims to inspire more gardeners to become National Plant Collection holders or Plant Guardians, helping preserve vulnerable plants for future generations.
Woodland Edge Inspiration
Created for the All About Plants category, the woodland-edge themed garden will be densely planted, with 80% of the space dedicated to plants representing Plant Heritage’s conservation work.
Collections On Display
More than 10 National Plant Collection holders are contributing plants and expertise. Featured collections include Geum, Boehmeria, Polypodium and Thalictrum alongside plants still lacking dedicated custodians.
Beauty Meets Conservation
The garden demonstrates that conservation planting can also be visually inspiring. Carefully selected planting combinations will show how rare and unusual plants can thrive within contemporary garden design.
Sustainable Craftsmanship
Reclaimed stone, British timber and bespoke sandstone structures will feature throughout the garden. Museum-inspired stone drawers and stacked ‘book’ pillars celebrate plant knowledge and horticultural heritage.
Supporting Plant Diversity
Plant Heritage currently safeguards nearly 100,000 plants through its National Plant Collections® and Plant Guardian schemes. The charity warns that climate change, pests and shrinking garden spaces continue to threaten diversity.
A Call To Gardeners
Through its Chelsea debut, Plant Heritage hopes to encourage more gardeners to protect the plants they love, proving that ordinary gardens can play a vital role in preserving horticultural history.