Step into our Breathing Space Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026
We're incredibly excited to have a presence at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026. This summer, we're inviting you to take a moment to breathe, relax, and reconnect with nature.
Designed by the award-winning garden designer Angus Thompson and built by his partner Dan Flynn – the Breathing Space Garden is a tranquil woodland-edge garden, reflecting the voices of people living with lung conditions. We’re proud and excited to be part of The Breathing Space Garden, presented in partnership with Asthma + Lung UK and Project Giving Back.
The Breathing Space garden is a sanctuary for everyone seeking a calm, supportive breathing space in which to recover and reconnect with nature.
Discover The Breathing Space Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026
Why is this garden important?
Right now, rediscovering our connection with nature – and finding the space to take a breath – has never been more vital.
One in five people in the UK will develop a lung condition in their lifetime – and when breathing is hard, nothing is easy. Living with a lung condition impacts every aspect of your life, and those difficulties can be felt every day.
Finding that space to escape to and settle has immense benefits for physical and mental wellbeing whether you live with a lung condition or not.
The Breathing Space Garden was designed and built to offer a welcoming space amongst the bustle of our busy lives.
Design inspired by breath and balance
The garden draws on the Japanese aesthetic of yohaku no bi — “the beauty of empty space” — a design philosophy that embraces simplicity, quietness, and clarity.
Every element is thoughtfully chosen to encourage calm and relaxation, with a focus on accessible, inclusive design for all visitors and low-allergen planting for sensitive lungs. Read more about our lung-friendly plants at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.
“For people living with lung conditions, every breath can feel uncertain. We hope the Asthma + Lung UK - Breathing Space Garden inspires reflection on how vital it is to breathe freely.”
After the show
When the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 is finished, the Breathing Space Garden will continue to be a haven.
The garden will be relocated to the Breathing Space lung rehabilitation centre in Rotherham, supported by Asthma + Lung UK.
The Breathing Space Garden will become a permanent therapeutic space offering holistic support for people living with lung conditions, maintained in partnership with the local community.
About Angus Thompson
Angus Thompson, who has won an RHS Gold medal with a previous RHS Chelsea Gardens, has a deeply personal connection to Asthma + Lung UK’s work.
His wife, Kate Binnie, provides breathing therapy groups for the charity and supports people with lung conditions in palliative care. Angus and Kate’s daughter lives with asthma, and Kate’s mother also lived with severe breathlessness.
Angus and his team have a commitment to simplicity and sustainability. Through close collaboration with clients, architects, and interior designers, the team creates spaces that reveal the true character and unique possibility of each site.
For more information visit: www.angusthompsondesign.com
Experience our garden at the Chelsea Flower Show
Join us at the world’s most celebrated flower show and discover how design, science, and compassion come together in a garden that truly helps people breathe easier.
📍 RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026
🗓️ 19 – 23 May 2026
🌿 Designed by Angus Thompson for Asthma + Lung UK
💚 Future Home: Rotherham Breathing Space
Sponsored by
Designed By
Angus Thompson
Planting consultancy
Chris Marchant
With Midori Shintani and Shintaro Sasagawa
Built By
CGM Landscapes
Dan Flynn, Insight
Sustainable Engineering by AKT II
Sculpture by Oliver Barratt
Metal fabrication by Rex Holloway
Littlehampton Welding
Getjar
Plants Provided By:
Solitair
Kelways
Deepdale Trees
With additional thanks to:
Balfour Beatty plc
Cadeby Stone
Clearstone
Complete Unity Yoga
dpa lighting consultants
E.ON Energy
Fairalls
Grants of Shoreditch Ltd
Jewson Rotherham
Land & Water
Lightgraphix
Low Carbon Materials
Lyall Landscapes
McLaren Construction
Nakamoto Forestry
Parkway Steel
Sanofi
Speedy Service
Tarmac
The Garden Trellis company
The Modern Garden Company
The Oak Workshop Ltd
The Worm that Turned
Uniper Energy
Weaver Green
With thanks to Rotherham NHS Trust, especially Jacqueline Pollington, Anne and Paul Milner