I spoke to the trees at the AI-powered garden at this year's Chelsea Flower Show – and I'm convinced this tech can revolutionize gardening in a changing climate

No garden seemed to court more divisive discussion ahead of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 than the Avanade Intelligent Garden, or the AI Garden, as many people shortened it to.

Showcasing how technology and gardening can come together at times of climate change, the ‘intelligent’ show garden contained a lot of technology and innovation without being intrusive. However, when you delve deeper and start communicating with the trees using the web-based app, you truly see the game-changing potential.

So, what can we learn from this technological showcase, and is this how AI in gardening will help us care for trees and plants in the future? To decide for myself, I toured the garden with the technology lead and spent some time interacting with the trees to see what they had to say.

What is the Avanade Intelligent Garden?

The Avanade Intelligent Garden was brought to life by designers Tom Massey and Je Ahn. The show garden is based on the concept of an urban forest garden, featuring a mix of climate-resilient plants and trees. It is on the prestigious Main Avenue at the show and received a highly coveted Gold medal from the judging panel.

The garden has an atmospheric woodland garden feel. It features the likes of trilliums, hostas, geums, primulas, and many more, under a canopy of productive trees and shrubs, including Chinese pepper, jujube, and medlar.

The garden was designed to support urban trees. They offer benefits to humans by filtering air pollution, providing shade, and supporting wildlife, but they are not always well-supported themselves, with 50 per cent not surviving 10 years and 30 per cent perishing within their first year.

To show how things can be done differently in the future, and help the trees cope with threats, including climate change, the intelligent garden is equipped with sensors so an AI assistant can consistently monitor data and help the trees survive.

Ahead of the show, Tom described it as ‘a unique opportunity’ to address plant health, sustainable water use, and gardening in a changing climate. He added: ‘I am excited to see how AI can assist gardeners to help make a meaningful impact that will help us all garden and grow more sustainably.’

What technology is integrated into the garden?

The AI elements garnered a lot of attention in the build-up to the show, so I strived to find out more. I was fortunate to spend time with Devon Young, the experience delivery manager at Avanade, who led the design and development team that delivered the AI on the show garden.

Devon talked me through the technology the team integrated into the garden and how it helps to support the trees, plus the potential future uses. There are smart sensors on 12 trees within the garden, along with other soil, air, humidity, and temperature sensors, as well as sensors to track pollinators visiting the garden.

However, you aren’t aware of all the technology at first sight. Devon highlighted how the tree sensors are ‘mostly concealed’ – though some are purposefully placed more prominently so visitors can see them – so the technology isn’t front-and-centre to distract from the overall garden experience and atmosphere.

The sensors are small and could be easily hidden away on trees or shrubs in an everyday garden. The low-maintenance ePlant tree sensors being used can go into any plants with stems at least an inch thick to monitor their development, and have a multi-year lifespan. Plus, the ones on the show garden are powered by solar panels with a lifespan of at least 15 years.

‘The sensors track everything from tree growth and moisture to soil conditions, air quality, and weather,’ says Devon. ‘The technology behind the garden uses Microsoft Azure to manage sensors, process data and run AI models efficiently.’

An AI assistant monitors all the information from the trees, including growth, irrigation, humidity, stress, and temperature, and relays information back through an app, showing how the tree is faring. It essentially allows you to talk to the trees and find out how they are doing and what, if anything, they need.

All the information from the various sensors, plus air quality data and weather patterns, is analyzed and interpreted to provide simple maintenance advice for the gardener to follow.

The developers worked closely with Tom Massey, to ‘pick his brains’ as Devon explained it, so the AI is trained with specific information on each tree's requirements and can relay care advice in an easy-to-understand and jargon-free way.

The app can tell you if the plant is struggling, needs moisture, or is leaning following a storm. And it can warn of over- and underwatering, as well as provide further maintenance tips. For example, as the sensors are also linked to weather data, it can tell you whether it is better to water the garden now or wait for any incoming rain to do it for you.

The show garden focuses on supporting urban trees, but Devon claims the technology is designed to be ‘scalable and sustainable’. It could be used from backyards to estate management, as gardeners globally have to future-proof their gardens against a changing climate.

Devon Young

Devon led the design and development team to deliver the intelligence behind the garden, focusing on the experience that people have when they visit Chelsea.

What have the trees been saying?

After speaking with Devon, it was time to talk to the trees. They revealed issues with low growth, watering, and high humidity, but did provide helpful maintenance tips to rectify their problems.

The Chinese pepper (Zanthoxylum simulans) said it needed more watering as it was still establishing roots.

The tree recommended: ‘Aim for deep watering to the root zone, particularly in the early morning or late evening. It's also important to keep the soil moist, so if it starts to dry out, please water me appropriately. Additionally, adding mulch around my base can help retain moisture and regulate temperature.’

The Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) said it was experiencing ‘high humidity and high soil moisture’ that needed addressing. ‘You should check the soil moisture; it’s currently high, so it's best to pause watering until the top few centimetres dry out,’ it advised.

The jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) said it faced ‘a few challenges’ and needed help to improve its growing conditions. ‘My growth status is low, which isn't ideal,’ said the tree.

‘The temperature is normal, but the humidity is quite high at 93%. This high humidity is not in my preferred range and could affect my health. I'm also experiencing high soil moisture at 43.5%, which could lead to potential drainage issues if it does not improve.’

Another tree struggling with moisture issues was the purple-leaved walnut (Juglans regia 'Purpurea'). Not only did the tree reveal its growth rate was ‘negative’, but it indicated signs of ‘stress or difficulties establishing roots’.

‘Right now, the soil moisture is high, which can also contribute to reduced growth if it leads to poor drainage,’ said the tree. ‘Cease watering and check drainage.’

Is this the future of gardening?

Understandably, utilizing AI and technology in this way in a garden may not be for everyone. However, I think there are tangible benefits of using technology, whether it is automated irrigation, gardening apps, or, in this case, sensors and AI.

You don’t need to fill a garden with sensors; a few choice pieces of technology can help you make well-judged maintenance decisions and nip potential problems in the bud.

When chatting to Devon and other key technology partners in the garden, it definitely comes across how they feel gardening needs to move with the times and embrace such innovation.

They mentioned, in particular, the new generation of younger gardeners and future generations. AI and apps are the norm for these people, so they will embrace these technological innovations. But what about the rest?

I believe there is a wider appreciation for how technology can help gardeners. And the key point here is that it is not about replacing gardeners with robots, or even adding more automated systems, but about interpreting data and giving practical advice to help people keep their plants alive.

It can be discouraging when you lose plants, and this can help prevent that from occurring. The sensors can identify and reveal problems in their early stages, when they are easily preventable and before things get worse. This has the potential to help newer gardeners build confidence and understanding with their plants.

To some, there may be a worry about a garden full of obtrusive technology that takes away from the look and peaceful feel of a space. However, this garden trend can be barely noticeable. Sensors and moisture meters can be seamlessly hidden out of view, and no wires or cables are needed.

All of the technology on the Avanade Intelligent Garden is currently purchasable and likely to become wider-reaching in the future. It is the next step from using moisture meters, which measure temperature and pH as well as moisture, to help you make sensible decisions about when to water plants.

Welcoming technology and AI with open arms can help us preserve our trees and plants, and this is worth embracing. At a time when climate change continues to put extra pressure on gardeners and plants, we have to garden more sustainably and flexibly to protect our trees.

If you are after more inspiration from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025, we have also taken a closer look at both The Pathway Garden and the Karoo Succulent Garden from this year’s event.