Asthma + Lung UK’s garden is based at Breathing Space in East Dene, part of Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

The official opening of the Chelsea Flower Show Breathing Space garden which took root this week in Rotherham could well be set to spread shoots much further beyond the borough.

The Asthma + Lung UK Breathing Space garden was a hit with judges at the world famous RHS flower show in May this year – awarded a silver medal overall and commended in the Environmental Innovation award category.

Following the end of the 2026 show the garden completed a 160-mile journey from London to Rotherham to transform the outdoor space at Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust's Breathing Space in East Dene that cares for NHS patients with respiratory conditions.

Guests speaking at the official opening of its permanent home in Rotherham included the garden's designer Angus Thompson and his wife Kate Binnie who provides breathing therapy groups for Asthma and Lung UK and supports people with lung conditions in palliative care.

Angus said: “With design you start on a page and that's great fun but what's really great fun is when you come and visit the completed garden.

“Talking to a couple in and about a private garden is one thing but talking to you all today and your investment in this special space – it makes it so worthwhile and so right.”

Kate Binnie said: “We consider it to be a flagship garden, getting that knowledge (about breathing therapy) out into the world.

“It's a fantastic way of highlighting that and getting it out to the wider public.”

She said there were plans for similar Breathing Space gardens in Hull and Newcastle, and added: “We would like it to be like Maggie's (the charity that provides cancer care and support in centres across the UK) where what has worked so well (in healthcare) in one place then spreads to lots of other places so let's see how that goes.”