Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’
Downy Japanese maple ‘Aconitifolium’
Asthma + Lung UK Breathing Space Garden
About this garden
Guided by the Japanese principle of yohaku no bi — the beauty of empty space — this tranquil woodland-edge garden reflects the voices of people living with lung conditions, offering a calm, restorative breathing space in which to recover and reconnect with nature. One in five people in the UK will develop a lung condition in their lifetime; this garden makes that invisible experience visible and dignified.
Accessible paths, graded steps and seated rest points lead to the heart of the garden, where two structural pine trees — chosen for their natural antioxidant and immune-boosting properties — anchor a floating platform designed for breath-supporting therapies including yoga and tai chi. Running water and a still pond introduce soothing sound and reflective calm, drawing on the Tokachi Millennium Forest in Japan as a design reference. A restrained palette of greens and whites is lifted by pops of Asthma + Lung UK's brand colours — pink, purple and orange — while pockets of low-allergen plants are chosen for their gentle impact.
The sustainability innovation here is extraordinary: the garden trials ACLA, a carbon-negative additive made by Low Carbon Materials using biochar, in what is believed to be a world-first application combined with calcined clay. Recycled aluminium oxygen cylinders are repurposed as water spouts and channel drains — a profoundly on-theme detail for a lung charity garden. A symbolic and powerful touch: coal dust from the UK's last coal-fired power station has been incorporated into the aggregate, marking the country's historic transition as the first in Europe to fully close coal power.
The garden will be relocated to the Breathing Space lung rehabilitation centre in Rotherham after the show, giving the design a meaningful second life.
Gallery
Plant List102
Trees & Shrubs
Perennials, Grasses & Ferns
Acaena affinis
New Zealand bur
Actaea simplex (Atropurpurea Group) ‘Brunette’
Bugbane ‘Brunette’
Adiantum aleuticum ‘Imbricatum’
Aleutian maidenhair ‘Imbricatum’
Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’
Bugle ‘Catlin’s Giant’
Alchemilla alpina
Alpine lady’s mantle
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Eastern bluestar
Anemone leveillei
Woodland anemone
Anemone multifida
Rocky Mountain windflower
Anthericum ramosum
Branched St. Bernard’s lily
Aquilegia ‘Spring Magic Blue & White’
Columbine ‘Spring Magic Blue & White’
Arisaema consanguineum
Chinese jack-in-the-pulpit
Aruncus ‘Horatio’
Goat’s beard ‘Horatio’
Aruncus ‘Misty Lace’
Goat’s beard ‘Misty Lace’
Asarum caudatum
Western wild ginger
Asarum europaeum
Hazelwort
Asplenium scolopendrium ‘Undulata’
Undulating hart’s tongue fern
Astilbe japonica ‘Europa’
Astilbe ‘Europa’
Bergenia Ballawley hybrids
Elephant’s ears Ballawley hybrids
Bistorta affinis ‘Superba’
Knotweed ‘Superba’
Blechnum penna-marina
Antarctic hard fern
Boehmeria platanifolia
Sycamore-leaf false nettle
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Betty Bowring’
Siberian bugloss ‘Betty Bowring’
Carex from Kyoto, Japan
Sedge from Kyoto, Japan
Carex muskingumensis
Palm branch sedge
Chloranthus fortunei
Fortune’s chloranthus
Cirsium rivulare ‘Trevor’s Blue Wonder’
Plume thistle ‘Trevor’s Blue Wonder’
Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’
Clematis ‘Purpurea’
Corydalis curviflora subsp. rosthornii ‘Blue Heron’
Corydalis ‘Blue Heron’
Corydalis flexuosa ‘Purple Leaf’
Blue corydalis ‘Purple Leaf’
Cyrtomium falcatum
Japanese holly fern
Darmera peltata
Umbrella plant
Disporum longistylum ‘Green Giant’
Fairy bells ‘Green Giant’
Dryopteris affinis
Scaly male fern
Dryopteris erythrosora var. prolifica
Prolific copper shield fern
Dryopteris sieboldii
Siebold’s wood fern
Epimedium ‘Amber Queen’
Barrenwort ‘Amber Queen’
Epimedium ‘Spine Tingler’
Barrenwort ‘Spine Tingler’
Epimedium grandiflorum ‘White Queen’
Large-flowered barrenwort ‘White Queen’
Equisetum hyemale
Scouring rush
Euonymus fortunei ‘Kewensis’
Wintercreeper
Euphorbia ceratocarpa
Horned spurge
Euphorbia cornigera
Horned spurge
Euphorbia oblongata
Balkan spurge
Filipendula purpurea
Japanese meadowsweet
Francoa sonchifolia
Bridal wreath
Geranium phaeum ‘Lily Lovell’
Mourning widow ‘Lily Lovell’
Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’
Mourning widow ‘Samobor’
Geranium pratense ‘Splish Splash’
Meadow cranesbill ‘Splish Splash’
Geranium renardii
Caucasus geranium
Gillenia trifoliata
Bowman’s root
Heuchera cylindrica ‘Greenfinch’
Alum root ‘Greenfinch’
Hosta ‘Devon Green’
Plantain lily ‘Devon Green’
Iris ensata
Japanese water iris
Iris laevigata
Japanese iris
Iris sibirica ‘Butter and Sugar’
Siberian iris ‘Butter and Sugar’
Iris sibirica ‘Shirley Pope’
Siberian iris ‘Shirley Pope’
Iris sibirica ‘Silver Edge’
Siberian iris ‘Silver Edge’
Lamium orvala f. albiflorum
Balm-leaved white deadnettle
Laserpitium siler
Laserwort
Libertia chilensis
New Zealand satin flower
Lilium hansonii
Hanson’s lily
Lilium martagon
Turk’s cap lily
Lysimachia nummularia
Creeping Jenny
Mathiasella bupleuroides ‘Green Dream’
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Ostrich fern
Meum athamanticum
Spignel
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’
Eulalia ‘Gracillimus’
Mukdenia rossi ‘Karasuba’
Mukdenia ‘Karasuba’
Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus
Old pheasant’s eye
Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’
Black lilyturf
Osmunda regalis
Royal fern
Paeonia lactiflora ‘White Wings’
Peony ‘White Wings’
Peucedanum verticillare
Hog fennel
Pilea matsudae
Taiwan pilea
Podophyllum versipelle ‘Spotty Dotty’
Mayapple ‘Spotty Dotty’
Polygonatum odoratum
Angled Solomon’s seal
Polygonatum stenanthum
Narrow-anthered Solomon’s seal
Polygonatum verticillatum
Whorled Solomon’s seal
Primula bulleyana
Bulley’s primrose
Primula pulverulenta
Candelabra primula
Prunella vulgaris
Selfheal
Rodgersia pinnata ‘Superba’
Rodgersia ‘Superba’
Rodgersia podophylla ‘Braunlaub’
Rodgers’ bronze-leaf ‘Braunlaub’
Rubus fruticosus ‘Himalayan Giant’
Blackberry ‘Himalayan Giant’
Sanguisorba officinalis ‘Lum’
Great burnet ‘Lum’
Scleranthus biflorus
Seseli libanotis
Moon carrot
Sesleria heufleriana
Balkan blue grass
Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Sem’
False spiraea ‘Sem’
Spiraea japonica ‘Albiflora’
White Japanese spiraea
Tellima grandiflora
Fringe cups
Tellima grandiflora Rubra Group
Fringe cups Rubra Group
Teucrium scorodonia ‘Crispum’
Wood sage ‘Crispum’
Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’
Rue ‘Black Stockings’
Triteleia laxa ‘Koningin Fabiola’
Grassnut ‘Koningin Fabiola’
Veratrum nigrum
Black false hellebore
× Fatshedera lizei ‘Annemieke’
Tree ivy ‘Annemieke’
Fenn is an independent plant marketplace and is not affiliated with or endorsed by RHS. Garden names, designers and plant lists are credited to their respective gardens and organisers.
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