From Willow to Welcome: Creating Space for Neurodiversity at RHS Chelsea 2025.
This year marked my second time working with a garden designer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and I was once again delighted to collaborate with the wonderful Katy Terry of Good Grounding Garden Design.
Following her own ADHD diagnosis in 2023, Katy chose to partner with the ADHD Foundation for her debut show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. The project was generously funded by the philanthropic organisation Project Giving Back, which supports gardens created for good causes.
Katy’s garden, featured in the All About Plants category, was designed to challenge common misconceptions around ADHD and to open up broader conversations about neurodiversity. The garden was awarded a Silver Gilt medal—a fantastic achievement and a testament to her thoughtful, bold design.
The ADHD Foundation garden at RHS Chelsea 2025
I had the honour of weaving the panels that formed the backdrop to the garden, which I made before the event in my workshop. Installation day at Chelsea was both awe-inspiring and slightly mad—as anything to do with Chelsea tends to be! Even though this was my second time contributing to a Chelsea garden and I was vaguely prepared, the sheer scale of human cooperation and ingenuity involved in bringing the gardens to life never fails to amaze me.
My part of the installation for this garden was fairly straightforward—fixing the woven panels to their posts and adding the final touch with a roll-top border that brought cohesion across all four panels. While I quietly worked away, the usual Chelsea chaos was unfolding behind me: plenty of head-scratching and troubleshooting! Katy, as always, rose to the occasion with calm, clear thinking to solve the inevitable installation issues.
I returned on a blistering hot day to volunteer on the garden with my friend Kate, who has her own personal experience with ADHD and was keen to support the charity—and, of course, to be part of the unique Chelsea buzz. I was blown away by the garden. Having only seen in it mid construction its bare bones, to arrive and witness the complete planted garden was pretty breath-taking.
Our role as volunteers was to tell visitors all about the garden—the inspiration behind it, the design elements, and the carefully chosen planting scheme. It was a joy to share the story with people, many of whom had personal connections to ADHD or neurodiversity. The conversations were moving, insightful, and often emotional. The garden sparked curiosity, empathy, and dialogue—exactly what it was designed to do.
We talked a lot! Not only was the garden utterly beautiful and peaceful, it was also a powerful and thought-provoking space. It created a sense of welcome and inclusion for people with lived experience of neurodiversity, in the midst of such a vast and often showy event.
I loved every minute of it and am so grateful to Katy for inviting me along on her Chelsea journey. Not only does she have a wonderful design vision and create truly stunning gardens, but she also has a natural affinity with willow—understanding its sustainable, local story and valuing its deeply handmade craftsmanship.
