RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2025 | LCGD 'For the Love of Lamiaceae' borders 
A collaboration with Sally Holder

Featured on BBC Gardeners' World

Each of us has a unique experience of the sensory world - our earliest memories are laid down in scent and the smallest whiff can instantly transport us back to a past time. In the brain, scent molecules are captured by the olfactory bulb which directly connects to areas responsible for emotion and memory.

The design of this show garden for RHS Hampton Court Flower Show created an intimate and immersive space intended to bring together different generations through the medium of scent, memory and shared stories. It showcased aromatic and tactile plants, principally from the Lamiaceae family. These provided sensory prompts that users of the garden could engage with as part of the sharing of past memories and the creation of new ones.

A cocooning seating area was formed from curved gabion mesh filled with reclaimed construction materials, combined with a seat made from repurposed teak. These elements demonstrated the potential of materials with a previous life to be reused in an accessible way as part of the ongoing evolution of a landscaped space.

In and around the bench structure, scented plants were located adjacent to areas users would sit in and move through, creating a variety of opportunities for olfactory experience. A wide range of planting conditions showed the versatility of different species within the Lamiaceae family.