RNIB Talking Books Garden: RHS Sandringham Flower Show 2026
A watercolour illustration of the RNIB Sandringham garden. It features a circular walking space with a tree and bushes in the middle, one person is sat down with another walking. Around this area are different plants and flowers with birds flying in the sky.
Step into a garden inspired by stories, imagination and the power of accessible reading.
The RNIB Talking Books Garden celebrates two important milestones – the incredible impact of gifts in Wills and 90 years of Talking Books.
Set in the grounds of Sandringham Estate, the country retreat of His Majesty King Charles III, the RHS Sandringham Flower Show promises inspiring garden design, beautiful planting and the latest landscaping trends.
A garden inspired by storytelling
Books hold a special place in our hearts – a quiet magic that ignites our imagination and opens up new worlds.
Our free Talking Books service makes this possible for people with sight loss. With thousands of titles to choose from, including fiction, non-fiction, classics and educational texts, readers can enjoy books in a way that works for them.
Taking inspiration from the libraries of our imagination, the Talking Books Garden has curved shingle walls with ladders reaching skywards – a playful nod to libraries and the limitless worlds they hold.
Textural leaves and scented foliage form the backbone of the planting, with white flowers heavily contrasted by shades of lilac, mauve and warm pink. There are a few surprising audio elements tucked away too, making sure that a stroll through the garden is a joy to all the senses.
An image of long green grass and plants against a sunny blue sky and trees in the background.
Talk to us
Our team will be on hand to answer questions about our services, Talking Books and gifts in Wills.
We hope you leave feeling inspired and curious about how you could help us create a world without barriers for people with sight loss.
The RNIB Talking Books Garden is made possible by players of Postcode Lottery.
Meet our garden designer
The garden will be brought to life by award-winning designer, Paul Hervey-Brookes.
Paul has built a strong reputation for landscapes and gardens that rely on planting to create spaces and rich, multi-layered habitats. His ability to read landscapes and evoke intense feelings and emotions has won him acclaim across the board.
His previous awards include two gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and three of the top awards, including a gold medal, for the RNIB Legacy Garden at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse.
“I’m so excited to be working with RNIB again, this time creating a garden that celebrates the 90th anniversary of Talking Books. Books offer a world of escapism, adventure and enchantment, so it’s not hard to find something that captures the imagination.
What makes this service unique is it’s continued relevance – originally providing audio books to people who lost their sight in the Great War – to giving thousands of people free access to fiction and non-fiction titles, meaning that sight loss is not a barrier to getting lost in a good book”.
Paul is sat in a chair wearing a t-shirt and cord trousers with a brown dog by his legs