Forgotten Forests garden lives on at Hawthorn Primary School

The 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show may be over, but our gold medal-winning Forgotten Forests garden will live on at a Newcastle primary school. Our showpiece has been transported to the North East, dry stone walls and all, where it has become an outdoor classroom, a sanctuary for people and wildlife and a permanent reminder of our precious ancient woodland.

At the world-famous flower show, our garden displayed the beauty and value of Britain’s ancient woods. Created by award-winning designer Ashleigh Aylett, the immersive woodland glade was full of texture, diversity and life, with drifts of vibrant native wildflowers, ferns and grasses typical of a healthy ancient wood.

This thriving habitat was contrasted starkly with shady non-native conifers that represented a dense timber plantation. It was a powerful demonstration of the crisis that faces many of our ancient woods today, with almost 40% of them hidden beneath conifer plantations. But the garden showed the potential to rescue them and return them to their former glory if we act now. 

Judges were impressed, presenting the garden a RHS gold medal and the Best All About Plants Garden award. Our garden was made possible by our sponsor, Project Giving Back, with additional support from Lloyds Banking Group.

A new lease of life

In June 2026, the plants and landscaping materials of the garden were moved to Hawthorn Primary School in Newcastle’s West End.

Alongside designer Ashleigh, students, staff and volunteers got stuck in to reassemble the garden, cleverly reimagined in a more classroom-friendly layout. In its new home, the garden will be a calming, immersive space that continues to educate, inspire and be enjoyed long after the show. The school was chosen for two reasons.

Budding naturalists

Hawthorn Primary School is dedicated to connecting pupils with nature. It has a strong belief in learning from the outside environment to help with concentration and personal development. Students can join nature, gardening and eco warrior clubs, and they’ve achieved the prestigious platinum level with our popular Green Tree Schools Award. 

The Forgotten Forests garden will help deepen their connection with nature and continue all this fantastic work, from science and technology lessons to story writing and minibeast hunts, as well as supporting children’s physical and mental wellbeing for years to come.

More access to the benefits of trees

The school is in a neighbourhood where tree canopy cover is low. That means the local community may not have as much access to trees and the many benefits they provide, like shelter from extreme weather and reduced air and noise pollution.

This pocket of new green space gives local children a taster of the glory of ancient woodland, with hazel, field maple, guelder rose and other trees underplanted with red campion, water avens, cow parsley and more. We hope the growth through the seasons and the changing colours, shapes, textures and smells will inspire future generations to care about the woods, trees and wildlife we all need to thrive. 

The garden’s crucial message

The trees and plants may have become an open-air classroom, but this permanent illustration of ancient woodland continues to tell the same important story. It represents an ancient woodland brought back from the brink. These rich, diverse habitats have lived for centuries, but they are fragile and we have alarmingly few left. Remnants of those chopped down and densely replanted for timber still cling on: these are our Forgotten Forests.

Many of these plantations are now ready to fell and harvest, giving us one last chance to save the valuable ancient woods beneath them. At the Chelsea Flower Show and now at Hawthorn Primary School, the garden showcases how these buried ancient woods can be nursed back to health, and you can help make sure it happens.

Urge your government to remember our Forgotten Forests before it’s too late, for nature, people and climate.