When it comes to reimagining floral design with a fresh twist, Rachel Kennedy and Xue Wang from Acacia Creative Studio know a thing or two. For the fourth year running, they’re bringing their signature style to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and 2025 is shaping up to be their boldest chapter yet.
Acacia Creative Studio has always had a thing for pushing boundaries. Their work feels less like traditional floristry and more like sculpture in bloom — think large-scale installations, raw textures, and designs that tell stories about nature's rhythm and fragility. Based out of South Yorkshire but with strong ties to China, Rachel and Xue carry their passion for sustainable techniques wherever they go, teaching and creating with a real eye on the future of floral design.
Here's what you can expect to see from them, and from Sideau® — the 100% natural alternative to floral foam — during this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show (20-24 May).
Tropical Dreams With a Heartbeat
This year at Chelsea, Acacia Creative Studio is taking on a big one: the RHS letters themselves. If you’ve ever been to the show, you know these aren’t just any letters. They’re icons. And Acacia is ready to breathe some serious life into them.
Imagine a wash of tropical color, shifting from warm kumquat orange through equatorial reds, into soft pinks — a rhythmic, daring ombré that captures movement and energy. Intertwined vines, flashes of light and shadow, bold textures… It’s not just an arrangement. It's an experience. The RHS letters won't just stand there this year — they'll pulse with life.
Sustainability at the Core With Sideau®
But there’s more to this design than meets the eye. Acacia Creative Studio has long championed eco-friendly practices, and for their 2025 installation, they're partnering with Agra-Wool International — inventor of Sideau®, the 100% natural alternative to floral foam.
Sideau® is a game-changer. Made from basalt, a volcanic rock, it offers the structure and support designers need without the microplastic nightmare that comes with traditional floral foam. It’s compostable, reusable, and incredibly easy to work with. For florists who’ve been looking for a sustainable switch without sacrificing creativity, Sideau® feels like the future is finally catching up to the craft.
For Rachel and Xue, using Sideau® isn’t just a nice touch — it’s essential. Their entire ethos revolves around respecting nature while celebrating it. Incorporating Sideau® into their Chelsea Flower Show design just made sense. It's not about greenwashing or jumping on trends; it’s about genuinely working with materials that honor the natural world they’re so inspired by.
Photo by Cherished Photography by Claudia
What to Expect at RHS Chelsea Flower Show: A Riot of Color and Form
If the sneak peeks are anything to go by, visitors to the 2025 show can expect an installation that’s raw, bold, and full of life. Picture blooms like Alpinia purpurata, Protea varieties (including Silvia and Pink Ice), Heliconia, and Strelitzia, all weaving together in a colorful dance. Tropical leaves, Banksias, and hints of delicate Cape Greens will add depth and texture.
Rachel Kennedy, co-founder of Acacia Creative Studio:
“We are honored to return to Chelsea for the fourth year in a row. This year, we are creating an ombre of tropical blooms that will capture the imagination and inspire visitors. Our goal is to create something truly unforgettable and continue to push the boundaries of floral design.”
With Sideau® as the foundation, every flower, vine, and frond will be supported naturally, giving the team of 10 designers from Acacia Creative Studio the freedom to create sweeping shapes and organic movement without compromise.
Rachel:
"We have a fantastic team, many from China, who will be in workshops with us in the week before the show to gain all the skills for this build."
The iconic 2-meter-tall RHS letters take centre stage at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, making a unique and vibrant 6-meter-wide design essential not only to captivate visitors but also to embody the spirit of the RHS and communicate the essence of the show. This is your first selfie moment!
Rachel:
"We will also be designing the two large urns at the top of the Sweetingham Steps. These are on the main boulevard, taking a prime spot at the top of the staircase. The design will be architectural and feature also British-grown flowers, showing off the success and vibrancy of locally sourced material."
More Than Just Flowers: Storytelling at Its Best
For Acacia Creative Studio, flowers are only half the story. It’s the emotion, the connection to the natural world, that gives their work its real power. Every curve of a vine or layering of color hints at something deeper: the heartbeat of nature itself.
Their past installations have included a 5-meter woven rush tunnel and a 3-meter-tall oversized vase — both unforgettable, not because they were ‘perfect’, but because they made people feel something. Expect the same this year. Only bigger. Bolder. And more mindful.
And Rachel Kennery is already looking beyond the RHS Chelsea Flower Show:
"We will also be designing for the Strawberry Hill House festival in September, which is exciting! We love these opportunities to break from the day-to-day and be more creative and free to express ourselves!"
Photos by Cherished Photography by Claudia
Sustainable Designs Matter at RHS Shows
As florists, it’s easy to get caught up in the beauty of it all. But there's a bigger conversation happening about how one creates. Sideau’s role in designs like Acacia’s shows that it’s absolutely possible to craft breathtaking work without leaving a trail of waste behind.
Choosing sustainable materials isn’t about compromise anymore. It’s about leveling up the craft. Rachel and Xue are proving that with their Chelsea installation — and in doing so, they’re leading by example for florists around the world.
Photo by Cherished Photography by Claudia
Visit London, Catch It Live
If you’re lucky enough to be at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show somewhere between the 20th and 24th of May, don’t miss Acacia Creative Studio’s interpretation of the RHS letters. You’ll see color, creativity, and sustainability colliding in the most natural way — with Sideau® quietly, solidly, holding it all together. Because real beauty doesn’t have to cost the Earth.
Acacia Creative Studio is supported at RHS Chelsea Flower Show by T. Brown Group/Flowex and Agra-Wool International/Sideau®. Header and feature image by Cherished Photography by Claudia.
