Fourteen show gardens were announced by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), highlighting a variety of garden purposes, including: gardens for respite; relaxation; connecting with friends; for children; communities and wildlife.
For the first time RHS Chelsea Flower Show will feature a garden that harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Avanade ‘Intelligent’ Garden, designed by RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 gold medal winning design team of Tom Massey and Je Ahn, includes a curated selection of climate-resilient plants and trees, which will be monitored by AI. Practical garden elements of seating, water features and paving have been given a unique twist through the use of unusual materials, approaches and an abundance of traditional craftsmanship, including mycelium walls, semi-transparent enclosures, specialist tile makersand stone inscribing.
The Glasshouse Garden, designed by Jo Thompson celebrates the transformative effect of second chances through horticulture. Inspired by the work of The Glasshouse programme in providing a sense of purpose to women as they approach the end of their prison sentences, the garden is centred around a translucent elliptical pavilion emerging from rich foliage.
The Cha no Niwa – Japanese Tea Garden, designed by Kazuyuki Ishihara, will include a traditional Japanese tea house complete with thatched roof and set amongst a wide variety of Japanese maples. The Down’s Syndrome Scotland Garden, by Duncan Hall and Nick Burton (first time designers at RHS Chelsea), will include decorative tiles by contemporary artist and tile maker Francis Priest that surround a playful feature building. To highlight the misconceptions that people with Down’s Syndrome face this semi-wooded garden combines fun and mischievous features with both bold colourful planting and calming green colours to represent empathy and affection.
Helena Pettit, RHS Director of Shows and Gardens, said: “Our gardens, like people and plants have their own personalities. This year there is a huge diversity of inspiration and creativity reflecting the very different ways we want to use our gardens. Gardens to heal and restore, places to connect with others and entertain and gardens to play and have fun. So whether you’re creating a place for relaxation, a haven for wildlife or simply want to revel in the joy of gardening, the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show will be teeming with inspiration to help you bring more plants into your home.”
Creating a garden where children can be carefree, happy, refreshed and grounded by the natural world, first time RHS Chelsea designer Ros Coutts-Harwood will be joined by Tom Clarke to create the Children with Cancer UK ‘A Place To Be…’ garden. This garden includes a fun monorail, pool and a meandering path to a clear and reflective refuge representing a nest.
The London Square Chelsea Pensioners Garden, designed by Dave Green, is a place for the Chelsea Pensioners to share time with friends or family or to enjoy quiet reflection. The woodland space, filled with striking trees and a sheltered, central seating area will include vibrant planting to the garden boundaries to reflect the ceremonial life and stories of the Pensioners.
Many of the gardens have been inspired by natural landscapes and wild plant communities. Whether it is the coast of northeast Scotland, the self-seeding plant communities around volcanoes or the growing environment in Mallorca. The Hospice UK: Garden of Compassion by Tom Hoblyn draws climate and planting parallels between County Durham and mountainous areas of the Mediterranean and the Garden of the Future, by debut RHS Chelsea designers Mattthew Butler and Josh Parker, feature climate-resilient ornamentals, crops and edible plants to demonstrate how to harness innovation and lessons learnt globally to grow in a more sustainable and climate-resilient way.
Other garden highlights include the King’s Trust Garden: Seeding Success by Joe Perkins, set in a volcanic environment, highlighting how seeds represent the potential for life, growth and optimism for the future, drawing parallels with the potential for young people. The Tackle HIV Challenging Stigma Garden, by Manoj Malde, is a visual representation of the advances in science and the power of the HIV community to tackle stigma, whilst the Addleshaw Goddard: Freedom to Flourish Garden by Joe & Laura Carey, embraces nature’s call for an unhurried pace of life. The Killik & Co Save For a Rainy Day Garden, by Baz Grainger, offers a glimpse of gardens 25 years in the future and has been designed to withstand unpredictable weather patterns and the Boodles Raindance Garden, designed by Catherine MacDonald, provides a space for families to relax and contemplate life backed by the sight and sound of water. The Pathway Garden by Robert Beaudin and Allon Hoskin is inspired by the Pathway charity supporting homelessness, it features open design with sheltered woodland and a stylised contemporary space.