HELPING PEOPLE GROW
The Glasshouse is a UK Social Enterprise established in 2020 to provide support and second chances to female ex-offenders, through horticultural training and employment opportunities. From 20th -24th May, The Glasshouse Garden will be exhibiting at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The garden will embody the sense of purpose, self-belief and hope that The Glasshouse programme offers to women as they approach the end of their prison sentences, through a programme of horticultural training, employment and resettlement support. But we need your help to make it happen.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
20– 24 MAY 2025
In 2024, The Glasshouse was selected as a first-time exhibitor at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024. Their exhibit, ‘The Glasshouse Effect’, recreated the environment of the original glasshouse at HMP East Sutton Park. It showcased the beautiful house plant specimens nurtured by women in prison, and included items representing the hopes and dreams of the women currently in custody and participating in The Glasshouse programme. The Glasshouse Effect was awarded a Gold Medal.
This year, the Glasshouse will return to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, supported by Project Giving Back! Award-winning garden designer Jo Thompson is working in collaboration with current participants in The Glasshouse programme, to create a a garden that celebrates the transformative effect of second chances through horticulture. The garden will embody the sense of purpose, self-belief and hope.
The Glasshouse has recruited twelve women who have recently been released or are currently serving their prison sentence for the project. They are involved in all aspects of this project - from development, planting, staffing and presenting during the flower show. The women participants will receive media training and will act as spokespeople throughout the run of the Chelsea show.
In addition, a choir from HMS East Sutton Park will perform at the garden exhibit on media day.
Following the show, the women participants will assist with relocating and installing the garden in its permanent home at a women’s prison in the South of England where it will provide a nurturing space for training and planning second chances for a new community of women.
But in order to achieve this, the Glasshouse needs to secure £32,500. Prospero World (UK registered charity number 1163952) receives charitable donations in support of The Glasshouse through our fiscal sponsorship programme, and receives tax efficient donations from UK donors on their behalf.
The Glasshouse was founded in 2020 by Melissa Murdoch and Kali Hamerton-Stove who determined to transform abandoned spaces in prisons, into horticultural havens that provide training opportunities to women in prison, and opportunities for work on release. The aim is to grant women a second chance at life and reduce reoffending rates.
The Glasshouse plants are nurtured by women in prison as they work to transform their lives by training for a horticultural qualification, that includes months of education as well as work experience. The women they recruit and work with are dedicated, driven and grateful for a second chance. What they achieve through hard work and determination is positive and inspiring.
The Glasshouse also provides resettlement support to women approaching the end of their sentence. The programme is a stepping stone away from past mistakes and the prospect of reoffending, towards a fresh start and employment in the future. The Glasshouse participants have a zero percent re-offending rate, highlighting that building purpose, self-belief and hope for the future can break the cycle of re-offending.
Chelsea Flower Show 2024
BBC2
The Glasshouse, and their exhibit The Glasshouse Effect, were proudly featured on BBC2'. Watch it here.
Chelsea Flower Show 2024 - Potting Shed Part 1
Gardeners' Question Time (from 24.10)
Kathy Clugston presents a special potting shed edition of the programme, with GQT's panel of experts taking questions from visitors at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The panel answer questions on everything from how to maintain a bonsai tree to the best way to encourage a tomato plant to flower.
Later in the programme James Wong re-visits The Glasshouse Project’s show garden where he speaks to commercial director Katie Whittingham and volunteer Reba about using horticultural therapy to help rehabilitate former prisoners.