Blue Halo Garden at RHS Badminton

The science behind the signals

• Blue halo: Producing and maintaining blue pigment is energy taxing for plants. To overcome this, some flowers produce a blue halo effect instead, created by striations or ridges on the petals that scatter a blue/ultraviolet ‘shimmer’ of light – an irresistible signal to pollinators to locate their flower.
• Hot centre: Pollinators also like to bask in the warm centre of a flower. This concentration of heat in the flower centre is deliberate by design and increases the plant’s chance of fertilisation.
• Conical shapes: Conical-shaped cells on flower petals give the pollinator an extra foothold to better grip onto the flower.

Inspiration for this garden came from the work of plant scientists Dr Heather Whitney, Dr Edwige Moyroud and Professor Beverley Glover.

Garden design features

The ‘blue halo’ is represented by a ring of purple and blue flowers, including Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ for its ethereal qualities and Eryngium planum ‘Blaukappe’, for its contrasting texture and saturated tones. Recycled blue glass aggregate is used as mulch in the ‘blue halo’ to ensure that there is still a blue shimmer when plants die down in the winter.

The ‘hot centre’ is represented by brightly coloured flowers in the central planter, while the ‘conical shapes’ are represented by conical-shaped bug houses within the planting.

There is a large sculpture of Hibiscus trionum in the centre of the garden, designed and built by Rich Bindon, Solo Metal Arts. This is one of the key plants that uses the ‘blue halo’ effect. There are also smaller sculptures within the planting of different pollinators. The main planter has undulations to represent the striations/ridges on the petals.

Meet the designers – Natalya Scott and Lucie Dannemann-Scott

Natalya and Lucie are a mother and daughter duo who have designed the concept and overall design for the garden. Natalya has a background in Landscape Architecture and is now concentrating on Art and Garden Design. Lucie is studying Biochemistry at Cardiff University and would like to pursue a career in Plant Science.

Their team is joined by…

• Adam Boustead – Planting designer, gardener and owner of Adam’s Planterie.
• Amy Perkins and Camilla Aslett – Founders of Gather, a therapeutic flower-growing CIC offering inclusive groups for gardeners and nature lovers seeking community.
• Maisie Scott-Leighton – Graphic designer and founder of Peachy Products. Studying graphic art at A-level.
• Diana Starkiss – Garden designer and artist, gardening with nature.

“We would like to thank the incredible Blue Halo Team who helped us create this garden. Thank you very much to Buglife for being our main sponsor, and to the Plant Science Department at Bristol University, Durstons, Wheatley Printers and Solo Metal Arts for all their support. It has been an incredible journey. We have learned so much and met so many interesting people along the way. We hope the Blue Halo Garden inspires everyone who visits it.” – Natalya and Lucie

For more information and to follow the garden’s progress, follow the Blue Halo Garden on Instagram @bluehalogarden

• Download The Blue Halo Garden RHS Badminton 2026 Leaflet (pdf)