Chelsea Flower Show 2025: Innovations in Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence for Future Gardens
Chelsea Flower Show Gardens Timeline: Between Art and Architecture
Over the years, the display gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show have been distinguished by blending sophisticated artistic horticultural designs with ambitious architectural structures. These structures include walls, waterways, shelters, as well as bridges and pavilions. In 2025, the Chelsea Flower Show will highlight sustainability and AI innovations in its designs, further enriching this fusion of nature and architecture. This fusion reflects a significant evolution in how gardens are presented as interactive spaces that attract attention and inspire visitors.
The Shift Towards Sustainability in Garden Design
Currently, the show focuses on adopting environmentally friendly standards, as the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) aims to reduce carbon emissions and waste generated by temporary gardens. It also seeks to ensure these gardens are reused and relocated to permanent sites after the show ends, guaranteeing their continued benefit and preventing resource wastage.
Use of Mycelium Architectural Material: Innovation of 2025
Among the notable innovations in 2025 is the use of an architectural fungal material known as “mycelium”; organic fungal threads resembling roots or trees. These threads are used to wrap one of the pavilions in the gardens, representing a new step towards integrating biodegradable natural materials within garden architectural designs—a trend reflecting growing environmental sustainability concerns.
Creative Collaboration for a Low-Emission Garden
At the “Avanade Intelligent” garden, a major attraction on the show street at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, garden designer Tom Massey collaborated with architect Ji Ahn from Wave Studio, known for works such as the Soosang House in South Korea and the Devon Sand Cabin. This collaboration aimed to design a garden with low carbon emissions, relying heavily on the use of recycled materials.
Focus on Urban Trees and Their Environmental Role
The garden highlights the importance of trees in the urban environment, where they play a key role in air purification, street cooling, and supporting wildlife biodiversity. The garden features a curated selection of architecturally striking trees such as alder, Chinese cedar, and Sichuan pepper.
Use of Organic Fungal Materials in Construction
In addition to plants, the wooden pavilion features exterior panels made from wood chips bonded with fungal mycelium threads, reflecting an innovative use of natural materials in construction.
Architect Ji Ahn states: “Part of the mission we set was to design the entire landscape using recycled, low-carbon materials.” He adds: “After discussions with the sponsoring company Avanade, we decided to grow some of the building elements themselves, and mycelium was the perfect material for that.”
How Fungal Materials Are Made: An Innovative Natural Process
Tom Massey, a Chelsea Gold Medal winner, explains the manufacturing process of the fungal materials used in the garden pavilion. The process begins by inoculating wood pulp waste, including wood chips from the pavilion’s construction, with fungal mycelium threads. The mycelium grows and acts as a natural glue, binding the wood pieces together to form panels with unique organic patterns.
Material Sustainability and Environmental Lifecycle
Massey points out that the mycelium growth stops once it is air-dried, fixing the panels in their final shape. Over time, these panels slowly decompose and can be turned into organic compost for reuse, providing a sustainable environmental solution that reduces carbon emissions.
Difference Between Fungal Materials and Traditional Materials
Unlike plastics and composite materials that persist for long periods and cause environmental harm, fungal material does not exceed its useful lifespan. It is also free from toxic substances, as it can simply be converted into compost that benefits the soil and nourishes nature.
Challenges Facing Urban Trees
The Massey and Ahn garden highlights the significant risks faced by trees planted in urban environments worldwide. In fact, three out of every ten trees die within the first year of planting, while the mortality rate reaches 50% within ten years. This is due to multiple factors, including the accelerating impacts of climate change, which negatively affect the trees’ ability to survive and grow.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Tree Care
To address these challenges, the garden adopted an innovative approach using artificial intelligence technologies to monitor tree health. Sensors were installed to record a range of vital indicators such as growth rate, sap flow, air quality, and soil conditions. Then, AI analyzes this data to provide precise, customized care recommendations for each tree.
How AI Helps Improve Plant Care
Massey explains that the AI system was trained with detailed information about each tree, including its specific planting and watering needs. The system also integrates weather data, enabling it to identify elements requiring continuous monitoring and those that can be temporarily neglected. This gives gardeners clear insights that help them allocate resources efficiently and focus attention on trees needing special care.
The Garden’s Future After the Show
It is noted that the “Avanade Intelligent” garden, which also includes diverse layers of biologically resilient forest plants—some edible—will be permanently relocated to Mayfield Park in Manchester after its display at the Chelsea Flower Show ends. This ensures the sustainability of the environmental efforts embodied in the design and technologies used.
