Award-winning garden designer Angus Thompson is returning to RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May with the Asthma + Lung UK – Breathing Space Garden, a tranquil woodland-edge retreat, which invites visitors to pause, breathe deeply, and reconnect with themselves, each other and nature.
Sponsored by grant-giving charity Project Giving Back, the garden is inspired by the work of Asthma + Lung UK and the lived experiences of people living with lung conditions — for whom every breath can feel uncertain. Its design reflects their strength, resilience, and the need for a calm, supportive ‘breathing space’ in which to recover, reflect and reconnect.
An empathy led design
One in five people in the UK will develop a lung condition during their lifetime, and this project is rooted in deeply personal connections. Angus’ wife, Kate Binnie, is a researcher and therapist in palliative and supportive respiratory care and runs breathing therapy groups for Asthma + Lung UK. Kate’s daughter lives with asthma, and her late mother experienced severe breathlessness, and the garden’s contractor, Dan Flynn, recently lost his mother to a lung condition.
These shared experiences shaped an empathy-led approach. Angus and the team worked closely with clinicians and patients at Breathing Space Rotherham, where the garden will be permanently relocated, and consulted with Asthma + Lung UK’s community to understand what a therapeutic garden could most meaningfully offer.
The response was clear - the need for a ‘breathing space — somewhere to pause, recover strength and connect safely with both people and nature.
A contemporary Japanese influence
This inspired Angus to draw on the Japanese concept of yohaku no bi — the beauty of empty space — a design philosophy that values restraint and uncluttering, reducing visual noise and allowing both mind and body to rest.
Rather than a traditional Japanese garden, the design offers a modern interpretation of Japanese aesthetic principles. A calming woodland-edge planting palette of predominantly greens and whites is punctuated with subtle touches of pink and orange, creating seasonal interest without overwhelming the senses.
Notable plants include Carex Kyoto, Teucrium scorodonia 'Crispum', Hydrangea aspera, Pilea matsudae 'Taiwan Silver', Scleranthus uniflorus, Bohmeria Nivea, Euonymus planipes and Sorbaria sorbifolia 'Sem'.
A large, cantilevered platform sits at the heart of the garden, appearing to float above gently moving water. Slightly elevated, it provides open space for stillness, gentle movement or breath-based practices such as yoga and tai chi. The platform is constructed using an innovative new carbon-neutral concrete, marking its first use at RHS Chelsea.
Two sculptural Pinus sylvestris, affectionately known as ‘The Brothers’, anchor the space. Rescued from wetlands in the Netherlands by nursery Soltair, their unusually flat root balls and gnarled forms reflect years of growth in high groundwater conditions. Chosen for both their character and symbolic strength, pines have been central to Japanese garden design since the Shogun period and are also associated with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Cultural Exchange and horticultural expertise
To ensure authenticity and sensitivity in the garden’s planting, Angus is honoured to be supported by renowned Japanese horticulturist Midori Shintani, former head gardener of Tokachi Millennium Forest in Hokkaido, alongside a colleague from Japan. Their involvement brings a valuable cultural and horticultural depth to the project.
Innovative and sustainable materials
Sustainability underpins every aspect of the garden. The central platform has been engineered by AKT Structural Engineers using a net zero concrete designed by Tarmac and created with state-of-the-art carbon reduction innovations including ACLA, a carbon negative aggregate manufactured using biochar by Low Carbon Materials and calcined clay — a world-first and potential game-changer for landscape and construction industries.
In a further layer of design detail, coal dust sweepings from the UK’s last decommissioned coal-fired power station, Radcliffe Power Station, have been recycled into a resin plinth. This supports an ‘abstracted lungs’ sculpture by acclaimed artist Oliver Barratt, referencing Rotherham’s industrial and mining heritage and the region’s historically high rates of lung disease.
Raising awareness through design
Speaking about the garden, Angus Thompson says, “We want this garden to raise awareness of the invisible impact of breathlessness and to highlight breath health and wellbeing for all. We hope visitors to RHS Chelsea take a moment to pause, experience calm and clarity, and notice their own breathing — and to reflect on the human right to a future with greener, cleaner air.”
Sarah Sleet, Chief Executive at Asthma + Lung UK added, “We are hugely grateful to Project Giving Back for gifting us this inspiring garden and to Angus and the team for creating such a thoughtful space. Access to green space supports both mental and physical wellbeing, yet too many communities — particularly in more deprived areas — face barriers to healthy lungs and green open spaces.”
“For people living with lung conditions, every breath can feel uncertain. We hope this garden inspires reflection on how vital it is to breathe freely and encourages support for projects that green our polluted cities and promote clean air for all.”
A lasting Legacy for Lung Health
Following RHS Chelsea, the garden will be permanently relocated to the specialist Breathing Space lung rehabilitation centre in Rotherham which is supported by Asthma + Lung UK. Rotherham is one of the UK’s worst-affected areas for lung-related hospital admissions. Here, the Asthma + Lung UK - Breathing Space Garden will offer therapeutic support for people living with lung conditions, as well as a place of respite for the staff and caregivers who support them.
For Further information about Asthma + Lung UK please visit www.asthmaandlung.org.uk
Issue date: 11 Feb 2026
Media enquiries
For more information about the RHS Chelsea Show Garden, please contact: Jane Southcott pr e: jane@janesouthcottpr.co.uk m: 07787 527430 For more information about Asthma + Lung UK please contact: Sophia Khan e: skhan@asthmaandlung.org.uk
About Angus Thomson Design
Angus Thompson runs an award-winning landscape and garden design practice based in Oxford with projects across the UK.
Angus graduated from the Inchbald School of Garden Design, London, receiving the Principal’s Award in 2004. Awards include the Gold Medal-winning 'Nature Ascending' garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2009. Angus has developed a reputation for creating beautiful, multilayered gardens of quiet elegance and his uncluttered design approach is best described as ‘quietly contemporary’, exploring natural plant communities and materials with crisp detailing, textural contrasts and reflective water. Angus and his team have a commitment to simplicity and sustainability. Through close collaboration with clients, architects, and interior designers, the team create spaces that reveal the true character and unique possibility of each site. For more information visit: www.angusthompsondesign.com
About Asthma + Lung UK
Asthma + Lung UK is the only charity in the UK fighting for everyone with a lung condition, aiming for a world where everyone can breathe with healthy lungs. We fund cutting-edge research and provide advice and support for the 12 million people who will get a lung condition during their lifetime. We also campaign for clean air and for better NHS diagnosis and treatment. For further information visit asthmaandlung.org.uk.
About Project Giving Back
Project Giving Back (PGB) is a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. PGB was launched in May 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on UK charitable fundraising - effects that have since been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. PGB will fund 11 gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2026 and will have funded a total of 63 gardens inspired by a range of good causes from 2022 to 2026. PGB funding offers UK-based good causes an opportunity to raise awareness of their work at the high-profile RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as well as supporting the relocation of the gardens to permanent homes after the show where they can continue to benefit the charities and their communities. Find out more at www.givingback.org.uk