The only female designer of a large show garden at this year’s show, the garden designer, Jo Thompson has created The Glasshouse Garden, an immersive, sensory-rich garden for The Glasshouse.
The Glasshouse is a social enterprise that supports women leaving prison with horticultural training, employment, and resettlement support. With an impressive 0% reoffending rate, The programme is breaking the cycle of re-offending, and offering women practical skills, work experience and self-belief to work toward a better future.
The garden is centred around a translucent elliptical pavilion that emerges from the foliage. Designed in collaboration with Hollaway Studio, the pavilion offers a calm, private space for women to speak with support staff, sit quietly, or connect with others outside of the standard prison environment. Pivoting screens, made from tinted, recycled acrylic, reflect the striking colour palette of deep reds, pinks, soft peach and apricot highlights were chosen by Thompson to reflect the notion of “strong beauty” – a tribute to feminine strength and resilience.
“This is a garden with a strong legacy. It’s not just about beauty – it’s about creating lasting change,” explains Thompson
A stone water rill makes its way through the garden, linking each area and culminating in a tranquil pool. The soothing sound of water, the scent of fragrant plants, and dappled light through the canopy of trees brings life to the garden’s natural textures—bark, stone, and leaf. Wooden benches and weathered stone boulders offer tactile, restful seating, while varying tree heights frame views through the garden.
“Through the nurturing power of plants, the rewards of hard work and rediscovering one’s own value, we give women second chances, to find a better way of living for themselves, their families and society.” says Kali Hamerton-Stove, co-founder of The Glasshouse.
Planting
In terms of hard landscaping to planting, Thompson’s garden is refreshingly, 75% planting. River birch (Betula nigra) and Zelkova serrata trees form a light, delicate canopy. The peachy toned, peeling bark of the Betula nigra, complements the pavilion’s tinted panels.
Known for her love of roses, they take centre stage in the garden. Thompson has included varieties such as ‘Tuscany Superb’, ‘Wild Rover’, and ‘Emma Bridgewater’. They are paired with Iris sibirica ‘Paprikash’, Allium ‘Eros’, Digitalis ‘Sutton’s Apricot’, Papaver ‘Patty’s Plum’, Baptisia ‘Burgundy Blast’, Delphinium x ruysii ‘Pink Sensation’ and Geum ‘Mai Tai’.
The Pavilion
Designed by Hollaway Studio and made from recycled acrylic with a soft four-colour tint and textured finish, the pavilion offers both privacy and light, creating a calm, uplifting space. Designed with sustainability in mind, the pavilion’s steel frame is made from part recycled steel, and the tinted acrylic is an eco-conscious alternative to virgin materials.
Set on a floor of reclaimed British stone, hand-split for a raw, organic texture, the pavilion blends sustainability with elegant beauty. Its open structure. ensures seamless connection to the garden, while a sedum roof with hidden integrated drainage sends rainwater into surrounding planting and the water rill. A roof light draws the eye upward, inviting quiet reflection beneath the sky.
Water, stone and seating
The stone water rill begins at a natural source at the back of the garden and flows through the garden, shifting from organic to more formal in design.
Reclaimed British stone is used throughout: in the water rill, pathways, pavilion flooring, and as naturalistic boulders. All the stone has been sourced as waste or by-product from small British quarries to reduce environmental impact and each piece was selected for its character, colour, and texture. Many of the boulders, adorned with moss and ferns, serve as seating or visual anchors. The pathways are softened by self-seeded plants grown in sheep’s wool, supporting biodiversity and evoking age and authenticity.
Tactile wooden benches invite moments of stillness. Inside the pavilion, elegant seating by Italian furniture maker Bonacina, crafted from recycled materials that mimic natural rattan, create a serene, sustainable interior. Large moss-covered boulders double as informal seating throughout the garden.
Legacy
Designed as a multifunctional space for meeting, learning, and planning for the future, the pavilion will be relocated to HMP Downview after the show, where it will provide a space in contrast to the prison environment, with sensory elements to inspire and support women, provide an opportunity to experience nature, and the hope for better outcomes for everyone.
The garden will provide a place of learning, healing, and rehabilitation for the women supported by The Glasshouse. The creation of this garden at RHS Chelsea celebrates the journeys of women who completed programme. The Glasshouse mission goes beyond skills training. It builds pride, connection to nature, and confidence in every participant—laying the foundation for women to rebuild their lives upon release.
The Glasshouse Garden was funded by Project Giving Back, the grant-giving charity that supports gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
