Lovehoney Presents: Aphrodite’s Hothouse
RHS Cheslea Flower Show 2026
Gold Medal
James Whiting of Plants By There
Babylon Beats is a contemporary interpretation of The Hanging Gardens of Babylon in a vibrant immersive and interactive display. Houseplants will envelope the structure, cascading down the walls, hanging from the roof and emerging from the ground and sprawling across an outdoor feasting table, laid in tribute to the five Babylonian gods of the earth, wind, sky, fire and sea.
At this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, visitors were invited to step inside the elemental shrine, where fire, earth, sea, wind and sky reign supreme. They also experienced the opportunity to pay tribute to Mother Nature at a sacred pool, then revel in a lavish feast to the gods.
‘Babylon Beats’ fused retro-futurism with ancient reverence for cosmic deities and the origins of ornamental plants.
Meet The Collaborators:
This year Plants By There teamed up with U.K. based houseplant growers and retailers The Little Botanical. So for the first time ever, we created an RHS Chelsea Flower Show indoor garden using houseplants predominantly grown right here in Britain!
Based in Chichester, the team at The Little Botanical has one main mission:
“To inspire more people to make plants part of their every day lives. We love plants, and we want to show you how easy it is to bring plants into your home.”
”Designing the ‘Babylon Beats’ Houseplant Studio in collaboration with The Little Botanical has been an incredibly exciting and creatively fulfilling journey. It’s not every day that you get to bring to life an immersive indoor garden concept that blends bold design with the beauty and wellbeing benefits of nature. What makes this project even more special is our shared commitment to sustainability - we’ve carefully selected plants that are responsibly and locally grown right here in the U.K. by The Little Botanical, which really adds another layer of meaning and integrity to the space. To be showcasing this creation at such a prestigious event as RHS Chelsea is both an honour and a huge thrill for the entire team. We’re genuinely looking forward to unveiling the final result and sharing our passion for design and greenery with everyone at the show!"
Plants By There, James Whiting
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Lords Fragrance House
Lord Fragrance House infused the space with scent of nature so that visitors to ‘Babylon Beats’ could fully immerse themselves in the botanical world we created! This U.K based brand shares my love of colour and luxurious scentscaping and will really brought the essence of Babylon to life. Explore their range of home fragrances here:
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Hangers & Macrame
No indoor garden display is complete without hanging plants and what better way to display them than in custom macrame hangers kindly designed and made by Mina at Hangers & Macrame!
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Mighty Signs
Again this year, my good friend Jon at Mighty Signs helped me to bring elements of the studio to life with printed designs and vinyls used on signage, windows and light boxes throughout the studio. They are experts in all things printing, signage and graphics and work on projects in South Wales and beyond. Get in touch with them here:
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Gavin McPhail
The talented artist Gavin McPhail transformed the back wall of Babylon Beats with a vibrant mural that showcased the elements and helped make this Houseplant Studio a beacon of colour and life. Discover more of Gavin’s incredible work and follow him here:
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Audio Gold
My local friendly sound specialists Audio Gold helped to bring our immersive playlist to life! It wouldn’t be a real Hothouse without the sensuous moans of Donna Summer filling the space. You can pay this music lover’s mecca a visit in person or learn more about them here:
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Malvern Garden Buildings
Malvern Garden Buildings again gave designers of the Houseplant Studios at this year’s show the perfect space to unleash their creativity. As the official sponsor of the area, they have been supporting my work for a number of years. I’ve had the pleasure of working with them four times before at RHS Chelsea as well as at RHS Hampton Court. You can discover their range of garden buildings here:
Stay up to date:
Explore more of Babylon Beats and our other RHS Show exhibits by following @plantsbythere or @thelittlebotanical on Instagram.
