UK’s ‘Forgotten Forests’ to be brought to life at Chelsea
Senior PR officer
An “inspiring and immersive” garden created by the Woodland Trust for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show will expose the crisis facing the UK’s ancient woodlands.
The Forgotten Forests garden is the brainchild of award-winning designer Ashleigh Aylett, and leads visitors through a replica of a damaged ancient woodland’s restoration journey.
The garden highlights the Trust’s urgent work to revive rare, centuries-old ancient woods that were cleared for plantations of fast-growing, non-native trees to boost the nation’s timber supply after the Second World War.
Today, more than 900 square miles of the UK’s original broadleaf forests lie buried beneath timber plantations.
These plantations support far less wildlife than ancient woodland, and although the original soils and seeds of these ancient habitats are still lying dormant, they won’t survive another cycle of harvesting and replanting of commercial conifer crops.
Designer Aylett said the project is a chastening reminder of the plight so many of our ancient ecosystems are facing.
“It’s about amplifying an urgent regeneration story,” she said. “Designing at RHS Chelsea gives you the chance to influence domestic and commercial garden making and wider conversations about ecology and conservation.
“Partnering with the Woodland Trust for this RHS Chelsea garden felt especially meaningful. Trees and woodlands have shaped my design philosophy from the very beginning of my career, so when the opportunity arose to work with them again, I couldn’t refuse.”
The garden shows how a dark, densely planted conifer forest can gradually be transformed into a thriving, more diverse woodland full of flowers, fungi and wildlife. This reflects the Woodland Trust’s real restoration process: carefully thinning out non-native trees to let in sunlight, encouraging the natural return of species such as bluebells and wood anemones from the soil’s dormant seed bank.
Irreplaceable
A key feature of the design is a transitional zone where uniform conifers give way to a richer, naturally regenerating woodland full of life, colour and beauty, demonstrating that restoration is a long, evolving journey rather than an instant transformation.
The Forgotten Forests garden has been funded by Project Giving Back (PGB), a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with additional support from Lloyds Banking Group and Hillier Nurseries – tree supplier to Forgotten Forests.
Woodland Trust ambassador Dame Judi Dench said:
"The Woodland Trust’s inspiring and immersive garden is a vital reminder of what our irreplaceable ancient woodlands give us: peace, beauty and a thriving home for countless rare species.
“I’ve always felt there is profound wisdom in trees; an ageless wisdom that we must retain and let speak again. That’s why this garden matters so much to me. Bringing these forgotten forests back to life is a gift we have a responsibility to give to everyone – people, wildlife and the planet."
Falling short
The government pledged to put damaged woods on the path to recovery by 2030. By now, that should have included restoring an area of privately owned ancient woodland of 15,000 hectares – a total three times the size of Oxford.
Instead, the government has reported delivering less than 1% of that.
Nick Phillips, principal forestry policy advocate at the Woodland Trust, said:
“Failing to restore even a fraction of the ancient woodland we were promised is simply unacceptable.
“Ancient woods are irreplaceable, and every year of inaction pushes them closer to permanent loss. If we are serious about saving these precious habitats, we need urgent action – not just empty promises.
“We stand ready to work with governments and landowners to turn these commitments into real, on-the-ground recovery and hope our garden at RHS Chelsea 2026 will spark urgent and meaningful conversations with policy makers and gardeners alike.”
Notes to editors
For enquiries, please contact Owen Phillips via media@woodlandtrust.org.uk, 033 033 35313 or 07958 066766.
About the Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK with more than 500,000 supporters. With a vision of a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature, today the Trust owns and cares for more than 1,000 woodland sites, covering around 33,000 hectares.
The Woodland Trust has three key aims:
- protecting the UK's rare, unique and irreplaceable ancient woodland
- restoring damaged ancient woodland, nurturing precious pieces of our natural heritage back to life
- establishing new native trees and woods to create healthy, resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Access to all Woodland Trust woods is free so everyone can experience the physical and mental benefits of trees.
Ashleigh Aylett
Ashleigh began her horticultural career in 2022, training under renowned designers Emily Erlam and John Davies before launching her own studio in 2025. In just three years she has achieved remarkable success. At RHS Tatton 2024, Ashleigh won a Gold medal, Best Construction and was named Young Designer of the Year, the first woman to receive the title since 2017.
The following year at RHS Chelsea 2025, she secured a Gold medal and Best Balcony and Container Garden. Ashleigh is proud to be the first designer to win RHS Young Designer of the Year and then achieve a best-in-category victory at Chelsea the very next year.
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 10 gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2026 and intends to fund a total of 62 gardens inspired by a range of good causes from 2022 to 2026.
PGB aims to boost UK-based good causes by giving them 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.
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