Show garden sauna:
The Onnen at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse

Between the 16th and 20th July, a bespoke Heartwood Sauna will feature in Drakkar's Drift — Luke Coleman's RHS Young Designer of the Year show garden entry, which will debut at the RHS Flower Show at Wentworth Woodhouse.

During a recent visit to the workshop, we spoke with Luke about his journey to the competition, the inspiration behind the inclusion of a Heartwood Sauna, and what he hopes visitors—and judges—will take away from the garden.

Luke Coleman and Olly in the bespoke Onnen sauna

Introducing Luke

Luke's route into garden design began in 2017 with the launch of a soft landscaping business in Surrey. From the outset, Luke worked alongside established designers, helping realise and maintain award-winning schemes, before setting out to gain formal qualifications at the Eden Project and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) in Edinburgh, where he completed a BSc in Garden and Landscape Design. Alongside his studies, he spent time in Sweden learning directly from plantsman Peter Korn, whose sand-culture techniques — supporting resilient planting — continue to influence his work. Now based in Edinburgh, Luke balances design with practical delivery through his studio, maintaining a close connection to materials, ecology, and process.

RHS Young Designer of the Year

Luke has followed the world of show gardens since the start of his career and was drawn to the RHS Young Designer competition, as it is widely considered the most prestigious platform for emerging, young garden designers in the UK. Having already gained experience at RHS shows — including planting work on Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court in 2023 and contributing to the Gold medal-winning WaterAid Garden at RHS Chelsea in 2024 — Luke sees the competition as an opportunity to test ideas and push the boundaries of his design work.

"I'm drawn to the theatre of show gardens — it's a space to tell a story," he says. He values the creative freedom these gardens allow. "They're an opportunity for experimentation — a chance to test ideas at scale, share a creative vision, and build something that resonates on both an emotional and ecological level."

The application process opened in early 2024, with entrants submitting concept designs, visuals, planting lists, and construction plans for the judges' consideration. The short list was announced in December 2024, and Luke recalls how surreal it felt when he heard the news.

“I was actually in South Africa with my family when I found out. I rushed to tell my mum, and it was the best feeling to make her proud. I was definitely in shock when I found out, and even now, after months of work and the event only a matter of weeks away, it still doesn’t quite feel real. I’m looking forward to that moment of standing in the garden when it’s all finished - maybe then it will sink in!”

Drakkar's Drift

Rooted in ecological awareness and inspired by the dramatic basalt columns of Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa, Drakkar's Drift blends Nordic wellness traditions with elements of the Scottish Highlands, celebrating the historic connection between the two regions dating back to the Vikings. The elemental forms of the basalt columns became a structural reference point for the garden, represented by hexagonal columns for both ecological and sculptural effect. The overall design is grounded in Luke's core principles: working with the local vernacular, using reclaimed and native materials, and balancing what he describes as "messy ecosystems" with "orderly frames" — allowing wilder planting schemes to be held by clear, deliberate structures.

Heartwood Saunas' involvement with the project began while Luke was working with long-time collaborator Tracey McQue on a landscaping project in Scotland. The scheme included a Heartwood Aire+ sauna, and already thinking ahead to his RHS Young Designer entry, Luke realised he wanted to include a sauna in his design— and that a hand-built Heartwood sauna, made with locally sourced materials, was the right fit for both his sustainable principles and his design approach.

Wood-fired and clad in hand-laid shingles, the specially designed Onnen will feature a seeded green roof and an Osmo oil finish, helping it blend naturally into the garden scheme. The sauna sits quietly within the framework of the garden. Influenced by Nordic traditions, it is intended to offer a sense of stillness, providing a point of contrast to the surrounding planting and reinforcing the idea of gardens as places of wellbeing and retreat.

For Luke, the project offers not just an opportunity to design but a platform to advocate for more ecological resilience in garden design, where wildlife habitats and biodiversity are woven into the scheme from the outset.

The final layout feels immersive, layered, and unbounded, more suggestive of a broader suburban landscape than a defined plot. Alongside its ecological focus, it incorporates fire, water, and shelter: spaces for quiet, presence, and pause.

With the show fast approaching and final preparations underway, Luke considers how the show's visitors might receive the design.

"I hope that those who enter the space will feel transported by the story it tells and recognise it as an immersive space that celebrates wildness, wellness, history, and habitat"