RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden for Rhino Greenhouses

An edible show garden by Rose Hill for Rhino Greenhouses, drawn from the foraging traditions of the Norfolk Coast and built around the simple story of gather, prepare and cook.

An Edible Garden Inspired by the Norfolk Coast

Designed and built by Tommy and Rea at Rose Hill, this RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden was a commission from long-standing client Rhino Greenhouses. Rose Hill are RHS five-star award winners at the Chelsea Flower Show, four years in a row. The theme was an edible garden, drawing on the foraging traditions of the Norfolk Coast and built around the simple story of gather, prepare and cook. A rock pool at the heart of the garden stands in for the water’s edge, edible planting threads through the gravel around it, and the greenhouse sits behind as the place where the day’s harvest is brought in to be prepared and cooked.

 

Key Features of the Chelsea Show Garden

The Greenhouse

At the centre of the garden stands the greenhouse, aluminium-framed and glazed on every side. This is where the day’s harvest comes in, to be cleaned, prepared and cooked. Edible planting grows right up to the glass, and inside Rea has dressed it as a real working space, full of herbs, pots and tools, rather than dressing it as a product on a stand.

The Preparing Space

Inside the greenhouse, every shelf and surface tells a story of growing and preparing. A galvanised potting bench carries fresh herb crates, terracotta pots and vintage drawers, alongside the salvaged finds Rea brought in to give the space a lived-in feel. Planting comes right up to the windows, keeping the line between what is grown, gathered and brought in to the kitchen.

The Rock Pool and Water’s Edge

At the heart of the garden, a rock pool stands in for the water’s edge, the place on the Norfolk Coast from which the rest of the garden is foraged. Rounded boulders and pale stone sit between drifts of edible planting, with the gravel running through like a tideline drawn through the design.

The Timber Boundary and Boardwalk

A timber-clad boundary wraps the garden, with the boards rising into a curved wall behind the greenhouse, a quiet nod to the sheds and outbuildings of the Norfolk Coast. A timber boardwalk runs through the centre, leading you past the rock pool and on toward the sheltered seating nook.

Edible and Foraged Planting

The planting plan was Rea’s coastal forage, brought to life in plants. Flowering chives, herbs, ornamental grasses, pine and soft perennials are layered for texture and movement, giving the garden the wild, established feel of a coastal forager’s patch from the first day of the show.

The Sheltered Seating Nook

In one sheltered corner, a wooden bench cushioned with fabric throws sits beneath a real boat sail, secured between Corten posts. A Corten fireplace and stacked log stores anchor the space, with decorative Corten panels, one engraved with text, set against the timber behind. It is the gathering point of the garden, the place where the gather, prepare and cook story comes to rest.

The Rhino Greenhouses Show Garden Story

The Brief

Rhino Greenhouses, a long-standing Rose Hill client, came to Tommy and Rea with a clear brief: design and build a complete garden around their greenhouse for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with the creative direction left in Rose Hill’s hands.

The Solution

Tommy and Rea built the design around an edible garden theme, drawing on the foraging traditions of the Norfolk Coast and the simple story of gather, prepare and cook. A rock pool at the heart of the garden stands in for the water’s edge, edible planting threads through the gravel around it, and the greenhouse sits behind as the place where the harvest is brought in to be prepared and cooked. A wooden bench under a real boat sail gathers people in beside a Corten fireplace, with decorative Corten panels and a timber boundary holding the garden together.

Rose Hill are RHS five-star award winners at the Chelsea Flower Show, four years in a row. The wider Rose Hill team built, planted and styled the garden across the show site to a fixed Chelsea deadline.

 

Portfolio Image

The Challenges

A show garden has to be designed, built, planted and styled to a fixed brief and an immovable Chelsea deadline, then read perfectly from every public angle. The planting and hard landscaping had to look established from day one, with no time to settle on site. The edible theme needed to be obvious without dressing the garden as a vegetable patch, and the rock pool, planting, greenhouse and seating all had to feel like one connected story of gather, prepare and cook.

The Outcome

The finished garden gave Rhino Greenhouses a Chelsea show garden that lived and breathed as a complete edible space, not a product on display. Visitors could see the greenhouse standing among edible planting, with the rock pool nodding to the Norfolk Coast and a sheltered nook drawing people in to gather around food and fire. For Rose Hill, it stands as a strong example of the design, build, planting and styling work Tommy and Rea bring to every garden.

Rhino Greenhouses

“We’ve worked with Tommy, Rea and the Rose Hill team for four years on our Chelsea show garden, and in every one of those years we’ve walked away with a 5-star Tradestand Award. That doesn’t happen by accident. Their creativity, attention to detail and genuine passion for what they do makes them an absolute pleasure to work with, and the results speak for themselves.”

Andrew White, Sales & Marketing Director, Rhino Greenhouses (June 2026)

Quick Message

Feel free to reach out to us anytime.

Yes, I agree with the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Begin Your Luxury Garden Journey

Begin Your Luxury Garden Journey
1
Step 1
Book your complimentary consultation with Tommy – a relaxed chat to explore your ideas and give you a feel for our design process.
2
Step 2
Sit back and relax while we design your dream garden and create a comprehensive plan just for you
3
Step 3
We’ll present the garden we’ve designed for you and chat through the exciting next step… the build!
Cheers to an amazing summer! 🥂  What a summer it’s been… We hope you’ve all survived the heat! We have to say, it’s rather nice to finally see a little green returning to the lawns!  It’s been a busy few months here at Rose Hill Luxury Gardens. Rea has spent much of the summer making some wonderful memories with the children during their school holidays, but with September here, it’s very much back to business and there’s a lot happening behind the scenes.  Rea is currently designing our 2027 RHS Chelsea Flower Show trade garden for our longstanding clients @rhinogreenhouses, and we are incredibly excited about where this one is heading. We don’t want to give too much away just yet, but we think it’s going to be a trade garden to remember… watch this space.  And that’s not all for Chelsea…  Rea has also been quietly working away behind the scenes on another very exciting Chelsea Flower Show project. We can’t reveal too much just yet, but hopefully it won’t be long before we can share more.  Meanwhile, Tommy has been busy managing the teams across our current projects in Dunmow, Chigwell and Chelmsford, with plenty of construction happening and some beautiful gardens beginning to take shape.  We’ve also got a number of new design consultations booked in over the coming weeks, so it really is all go!  We say it every year, but autumn really is one of the best times to start redesigning your garden. Having the build take place through the cooler months, when you’re naturally using the garden less, is far more practical and means everything can be beautifully designed, built and planted ready to enjoy when spring arrives.  We still have availability to take on a couple more design & build projects this year, so if you’ve been thinking about transforming your outdoor space, now is the perfect time to get the process started.  We’d love to help you create your dream garden.  #RoseHillLuxuryGardens #GardenDesign #LuxuryGardenDesign #EssexLandscaping #ChelseaFlowerShow
The front garden sets the tone before you even get to the door. Get it right and it changes how the whole property feels.  Our latest blog covers front garden and driveway design ideas for Essex homes: surfaces, planting, boundary treatment, and lighting that work together as a proper entrance, not just a place to park.  Link in bio.
What makes a garden feel truly luxurious? It's not one thing. It's the coherence of
every decision, from the materials underfoot to the quality of light on the terrace after dark.  Our latest blog covers luxury garden ideas and inspiration for Essex homes, including the elements we come back to on every high-specification project we design and build.  Link in bio.
Well… this was a lovely surprise! 🏆🏆  We are incredibly proud to share that Rose Hill Luxury Gardens has been named Family Business of the Year AND Most Innovative Family Business at the 2026 Essex Business Awards!  When we started Rose Hill, it was simply the two of us with an idea, a lot of ambition and a vision for creating something a little different.  Fast forward to today and we have an amazing team around us, have created gardens for some wonderful clients, worked at some of the biggest RHS garden shows in the country and somehow managed to juggle building a business alongside raising our little family!  Like any family business, there have been plenty of long days, late nights, challenges, risks and moments where work and family life completely blur into one… which makes receiving these two awards feel even more special.  We’re incredibly proud of how far Rose Hill has come, but also very aware that we couldn’t have done it without our brilliant team, our clients who trust us with their gardens, and everyone who has supported us along the way.  Family Business of the Year 2026 🏆
Most Innovative Family Business 2026 🏆  A very proud moment for us both — and another little milestone in the Rose Hill story.  Tommy & Rea x  Thank you @BusinessAwardsUK!  #BusinessAwardsUK #EssexBusinessAwards #FamilyBusiness #FamilyBusinessOfTheYear #EssexBusiness
What a way to end the flower show season — with another 5 stars! 🌟  This will be our 7th show achieving the highest award, and we couldn’t be prouder. Such an incredible achievement and a true testament to all the hard work, passion, and dedication that goes into every garden we design.  Thank you to our wonderful clients @rhinogreenhouses  Now it’s time to head off to Greece to enjoy some much-needed quality time with the family and recharge the batteries. 🇬🇷☀️  #rhs
#SandringhamFlowerShow
#gardendesigner #GardenDesign #awardwinning
A garden you avoid during a heatwave isn’t working hard enough for you. ☀️  Thoughtful planting, shaded pergolas and water features can create cooler, more comfortable spaces when temperatures rise—all without sacrificing beautiful design.  Link in bio.
Rural gardens ask different questions. 🌿 How far does the formality extend from the house? Where does the managed garden give way to something wilder? How do you choose materials that sit naturally in a country setting?  Our latest blog covers rural and country garden design in Essex — the approach we take on larger plots where space, setting, and landscape all play a role. 🌾  Link in bio.
🌿 NATIONAL POLLINATORS WEEK GIVEAWAY 🌿  In celebration of National Pollinators Week (22nd–28th June), we're giving one lucky winner the chance to receive a Bespoke Pollinator Plant Collection, professionally selected by the team at Rose Hill Luxury Gardens.  Designed to bring colour, movement and wildlife into your garden, an example of the collection could include:  ✨ Lavender
✨ Verbena bonariensis
✨ Salvia
✨ Nepeta
✨ Echinacea
✨ Agastache  These beautiful plants are loved by bees, butterflies and other beneficial pollinators, helping to create a thriving and vibrant garden.  TO ENTER:  ✔ Follow @rosehillluxurygardens
✔ Follow our Head Designer @reavictoriahill
✔ Like this post
✔ Tag your fellow plant lovers in the comments (each tag counts as an entry)  💬 We'd also love to know: Where would you use these plants in your garden?  📅 Competition closes: 29th June
🏆 Winner announced: 1st July
🇬🇧 UK entries only  Plants will be delivered where possible, or collection arranged through a local nursery.  Good luck! 🐝🌸  #NationalPollinatorsWeek #Giveaway #PollinatorGarden #BeeFriendlyGarden #WildlifeGarden
The most successful gardens don't just look beautiful—they support the wildlife that makes them thrive.  A well-designed garden should do more than create visual impact. By carefully selecting plants that provide nectar, pollen and habitat, we can create outdoor spaces that are alive with bees, butterflies and other important pollinators throughout the seasons.  In many of our garden projects, we incorporate pollinator-friendly planting that combines beauty with biodiversity. Some of our favourites include:  Lavender – a magnet for bees and a timeless garden favourite
Salvia – long-flowering and rich in nectar
Verbena – loved by butterflies and adds movement through borders
Nepeta – soft, flowing colour that pollinators can't resist
Echinacea – architectural blooms that attract a variety of beneficial insects  The result is a garden that not only looks stunning but actively supports local wildlife and contributes to a healthier ecosystem.  As we approach  National Pollinator Week, it's a reminder that even small planting choices can make a significant difference.  Which pollinator-friendly plants have been the biggest success in your garden?  #NationalPollinatorWeek #PollinatorFriendly #GardenDesign #PlantingDesign #Biodiversity
The best outdoor kitchens are designed into the garden, not dropped into a corner of it.  Where it sits, how it meets the patio, the light it gets in the evening: these are the decisions that make a kitchen you actually use. Our latest journal entry explains how we plan them.  Read it via the link in bio.
 Icon