Inspired by the rich biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest, this RHS show garden was designed to immerse visitors in a lush, whimsical world of tropical plants, conservation storytelling, and illustrated wildlife. As both the designer and illustrator, I created a space that blends detailed planting plans, atmospheric design, and playful educational elements, showing how rainforest conditions can be recreated at home with your own houseplants and how these plants and creatures are so deeply interconnected – showing houseplants have a key part in the worlds ecosystem.
This garden began with a simple question Jessy, owner of plant and lifestyle shop Sprouts of Bristol, heard every day: “How do I actually look after my houseplants?”
The design brief for the gardens was to 'design a room', and the plants needed to be in a correct setting for light and care. We decided that doing a household room was too simple for our crazy ideas, and we wanted to take people deeper, right back to the rainforest habitats where many houseplants originate. That spark of curiosity grew into the concept for an immersive Amazon-inspired RHS show garden that blended conservation storytelling, playful illustration, and practical plant education.
As wildlife lovers and naturalists, we wanted to show that tropical plants never grow in isolation; they survive through intricate relationships with insects, birds, and the wider ecosystem. This is where I came in as an illustrator to add creatures and match them to the specific plant families they aid and rely on. This idea shaped everything from the layered planting to even the imperfections we intentionally left on certain plants to reflect the reality of life in the wild.
Creating a rainforest indoors came with plenty of challenges, from making a planted display... without being able to plant anything, sourcing ethical plants that are from this specific region, and designing a layout that felt magical but still taught visitors something meaningful. But those challenges became opportunities to combine our strengths in design, illustration, education, and conservation messaging into one cohesive experience.
The result was a whimsical, sensory journey that encouraged visitors to explore, pause, and see tropical houseplants through a new perspective that many never get to see in the wild.
To communicate our vision in our application and for the RHS judges to mark against our garden, we created a full set of illustrated concept designs. These included Mock-up illustrations showing the overall visual aesthetic of the garden with the key plants we wanted to highlight in it and my oversized wildlife illustrations.
These visuals helped translate our complex idea into something clear and easy to visualise.
Creating the planting plan was one of the most detailed parts of the design process. Jessy created a comprehensive plant list and worked out how many plants we would need to fill the space and where to put them so they would naturally work together. From that, I illustrated a full site plan to scale with a key to show placement by habitat layer (floor, understory, canopy, epiphytes.
This plan acted as a blueprint for the entire build, ensuring the final garden flowed creatively and had an authentic structure of a rainforest ecosystem.
We began by transforming the blank show space, painting the walls with the help of our friend and fellow artist Jazz Potter to create an abstract, atmospheric backdrop that would look like bokeh through the trees. Once the space was prepared, we lined and marked out the winding path, using it as the foundation for planning the garden’s structure and flow.
To mimic the rainforest’s layers, we built tree-like structures and platforms using recycled and repurposed materials. These allowed us to create height, depth, and different planting levels, essential for showcasing understory plants, canopy climbers, and epiphytes without actually planting into the ground. Each structure was finished with moss and bark to create a naturalistic feel.
Carefully placing every plant was a meticulous process. Each species needed to sit in the right micro-habitat, matching both its natural conditions and our illustrated design plan. Alongside the plants, we built a small pond fitted with a humidifier, sending gentle mist drifting across the path to enhance the rainforest atmosphere.
The final stage was bringing the storytelling element to life. We attached my giant illustrated wildlife cut-outs throughout the garden, pairing each creature with its matching plant species to highlight their ecological connections. These illustrations added movement, character, and a playful sense of discovery as you walked through the garden, transforming the entire display into a living, breathing narrative.
To complement the garden experience, we created an illustrated zine that guides visitors through the garden and tropical houseplant care, connecting practical advice to the plants’ original rainforest habitats. Each section covers the five essential plant needs—light, air, water, temperature, and nutrients—showing how these conditions can be recreated at home.
The zine also includes detailed identification guides, featuring every plant in the garden and the illustrated wildlife that interacts with them. By linking plants and creatures, visitors can better understand the ecological relationships that make rainforests thrive.
Finally, the book provides a pest and care guide, helping readers spot and treat common houseplant issues. This resource extends the garden experience beyond the show, offering a practical, illustrated handbook to pests, over and under watering as well as light issues.
Plants, pencils, and big ideas basically power me. I love taking a project from that tiny spark of a concept to a fully built space you can actually walk through. I’ve done everything from sketching the proposal artwork to designing the planting plan, building the garden structures, and even creating the products and illustrations that bring the whole story to life.
If a project needs creativity, problem-solving, and someone happy getting messy with paint, moss, or marker pens, I’m fully in my element. Whether it’s concept art, a show garden, maps, signage, or something totally unexpected, I’m always up for making something imaginative (and practical!) come to life.
