From Eden to Malvern – A Botanical Research Trip for Our RHS Show Garden

With RHS Malvern just around the corner and our first ever show garden in the works (eep!), Jessy and Ferne took a research trip to Cornwall – and where better to find inspiration than the iconic Eden Project?

We were kindly gifted tickets to visit for research purposes and had the absolute pleasure of being shown around by Aaron Hernandez Lee, Rainforest Biome Horticulture Team Leader, and Liv Lockyear, Horticultural Technician at the Eden Project. Both were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge, guiding us through the lush heart of the Rainforest Biome and sharing the stories behind its spectacular planting.

This trip was also part of an exciting collaboration between Sprouts of Bristol and Ferne Creative. While Jessy explored plant combinations and tropical textures, Ferne made a few early sketches for inspiration from the visit. she’s creating a series of illustrated animals to feature throughout our RHS Malvern rainforest scene, adding a playful, educational twist.

The insights of our wonderful hosts gave us a fresh perspective and left us brimming with ideas to bring back to Bristol as we prepare our garden for the Festival of Houseplants at RHS Malvern.

Aaron and Liv walked us through Eden’s rainforest sections, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the plants they care for and the thought behind their placement. From towering palms and winding roots to mossy tree trunks and epiphytic orchids, the biome is a masterclass in immersive, layered planting.

We talked about textures, microclimates, species selection, and how Eden balances aesthetics with conservation and education. It was an inspiring afternoon – full of passion, tropical humidity, and plant geekery of the very best kind.

We even spotted a few of the plants on our own show garden wishlist – from striking Bromeliads and Rhipsalises to luscious-leaved Anthuriums and Calatheas. Seeing these in a full-grown setting gave us ideas about scale, placement, and how to combine textures to mimic a natural environment.

What we saw at Eden helped shape several core ideas in our Malvern garden:

• Trees with purpose – the idea of vertical layers, tree trunks as homes for epiphytes, and plants growing in every direction inspired us to create our own trees from recycled materials. Built from old carpet tubes and cardboard, ours are sculpted, painted to mimic bark, and planted with moss and real epiphytes like ferns, rhipsalis, and bromeliads.

• Contrast and texture – Eden is full of unexpected pairings, which we loved. Large and small, rough and glossy, still and flowing – these ideas are echoing through our design.

• Immersive atmosphere – we want people to feel like they’re stepping into the planting, not just looking at it. Eden reminded us that planting is about feeling as much as aesthetics.

One of the most valuable parts of our Eden visit was simply chatting with Aaron and Liv. As horticulturists working daily in the biome, they offered a depth of insight that can only come from lived experience. We talked about everything from the challenges of maintaining humidity, to the practicalities of plant placement, to which epiphytes perform best where. These conversations planted new ideas for us – like integrating microclimates within our garden, or creating subtle shifts in planting style to reflect movement through a space. 

We snapped hundreds of photos during our visit – not just of individual plants, but of how they worked together. The compositions, the overlaps, the accidental beauty of a bromeliad nestled beside a fern or a Monstera climbing a mossy trunk. These images have become our moodboard.

They’ve also inspired how we plan to use photography in our Malvern garden – not only to document the build, but to create moments people will want to photograph and share. It’s all part of building something that lives beyond the show.

Now that we’re home with our sketches, plant lists, and full hearts, it’s all about transforming our vision into a reality. We’ve started building cardboard trees, gathering plants, and refining the layout. Eden was a dreamscape of ideas – and now we’re grounding those ideas into something tactile and real.

You’ll be able to walk through it at RHS Malvern. And hopefully, feel some of the same sense of wonder we did at Eden.

We left Eden with full notebooks, slightly damp brows, and totally refreshed minds. It was one of those visits that reminds you just how powerful plants can be. Not just for their beauty, but for their ability to tell stories, spark imagination, and ground us in something much bigger than ourselves.

Huge thanks again to Aaron and Liv for your generosity, time, and inspiration. You helped shape something really special – and we can’t wait to share it with the world at RHS Malvern.