Origami Hummingbirds @ RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden

Taro’s Origami Studio is thrilled to announce their participation in the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, the world’s largest flower show, through a unique collaboration with Shadwell Williams Design Studio and Price Adams Studio. This year, the festival features an exhibition titled “For the Love of Lamiaceae,” celebrating the relationship between pollinators and plants.

As part of this exhibit, origami artist Taro Yaguchi, founder of Taro’s Origami Studio—the world’s largest origami studio with locations in New York and Tokyo—has contributed 100 handcrafted waterproof origami hummingbirds to enhance the display.

See the Hummingbirds in Action!

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival runs from July 1–6, 2025, and will be attended by over 120,000 visitors from around the world. The festival attracts major media coverage, including BBC and ITV, and is a celebrated event in the international garden and design community.

We are honored to be part of this prestigious event and look forward to sharing the beauty of origami with a global audience.
Stay tuned for updates on the production, but for now enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the model!

The Concept: Merging Art & Nature

Hummingbirds have a fascinating symbiotic relationship with Lamiaceae plants such as Salvia and Monarda, which provide nectar while relying on these birds for pollination. The exhibit recreates this dynamic by incorporating vibrant red and orange flowers that naturally attract hummingbirds.

To bring this vision to life, Taro Yaguchi designed and crafted life-size origami hummingbirds, each featuring a unique wing position to simulate movement. These origami sculptures will be displayed throughout the border garden, mimicking the flight of real hummingbirds as they hover among the flowers. The curved, oval-shaped garden bed itself takes inspiration from their elegant flight patterns.

Below you can see Taro perfecting the design in paper.

The Creative Process

Creating these origami hummingbirds posed an exciting challenge: they needed to be both durable and weather-resistant to withstand outdoor conditions in London. To achieve this, Yaguchi used specialized waterproof paper, ensuring that the delicate details of each bird remain intact throughout the festival.

This project represents a perfect fusion of Japanese craftsmanship and garden design, emphasizing how art can enhance the appreciation of nature. It also marks a fantastic opportunity to introduce origami as a sophisticated and dynamic art form to the UK public.