From the quiet elegance of a Japanese tea house to the smart whisper of sensor-driven trees, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 delivered a masterclass in balance, where calm met code and tradition tangled with tech.
RHS Chelsea Garden of the Year 2025: Cha no Niwa – Japanese Tea Garden
For the first time, the newly named RHS Chelsea Garden of the Year was awarded to veteran Japanese designer Kazuyuki Ishihara. Cha no Niwa – Japanese Tea Garden was his first large-scale show garden, and it was curated as a space for quiet reflection and human connection. With cascading water, textured green walls, elevated perspectives and bonsai pines nestled among moss-covered stones, it was an ode to serenity and precision.
“I’m very honoured to receive this wonderful award – I never thought I’d have such a gift,” said Ishihara. “After working here for 20 years, it’s such an honour to have it. Thank you so much.”
Chair of Judges Hayley Skipper called the garden “a masterclass… beautifully composed and perfectly scaled. It delivers exquisite compositions from every viewpoint.”
It marks Ishihara’s 14th RHS Chelsea Gold medal, but his first time claiming the show’s highest accolade.
Best Construction: The Avanade Intelligent Garden – Where AI Meets Ecology
Across the main avenue, The Avanade Intelligent Garden by Tom Massey and Je Ahn offered a distinctly 2025 vision of horticulture—where forest gardens don’t just grow, they respond.
Modelled on the layered structure of a natural woodland, the planting scheme combined resilience and biodiversity. Beneath this calm surface ran a network of sensors—monitoring soil moisture, sap flow, air quality, and weather conditions. The data flowed to the garden’s organically shaped pavilion: a central hub built from fungus-grown mycelium and reclaimed ash, where the digital twin of the garden came to life.
“We didn’t want to design a ‘tech garden’,” explained designer Tom Massey as he guided visitors through the space. “It’s not about putting gadgets on display—it’s about using technology to support natural systems. The sensors are discreet, but what they reveal is powerful. It’s like lifting the lid on how the garden is really doing.”
“The data gives us a clearer, real-time picture of the garden’s health—how it’s growing, how it’s responding to the environment, and how gardeners and maintenance teams can work with it more intelligently.”
And the real talking point? The plants. Literally. Visitors could unearth that data simply by tapping an app and engaging with the trees themselves. A black birch (Betula nigra), when prompted, responded: “All my conditions are stable. I’m experiencing normal growth today.”
A Chelsea first: a garden where the foliage gives feedback, and the mulch has a mouthpiece. This wasn’t a tech showcase—it was horticulture made visible. A gentle, data-driven reminder that while the future of growing may be rooted in soil, it’s increasingly guided by insight.
RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2025: A Fragrant First in Pink
The 2025 RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year title was awarded to Philadelphus PETITE PERFUME PINK (‘P1’)—a world first for its colour and a triumph of breeding. Developed by Alan Postill, one of the UK’s most respected plant breeders, this compact deciduous shrub is the first Philadelphus with a true pink bloom.
Exhibited by Sparsholt College and supplied by Hillier Nurseries, PETITE PERFUME PINK captivated judges with its deep pink buds that open into fragrant blooms, fading to pale pink with darker centres. Hardy to -25°C and flowering over six weeks in summer, it offers urban gardeners and growers alike a scented, bee-friendly plant that thrives in sun or part shade with minimal care. Its dense, mound-forming habit (1.5m high and wide) makes it perfect for borders, containers, and small-space planting.
The award celebrates not only innovation but legacy, marking a poignant recognition of Postill’s lifelong contribution to British horticulture and a plant poised for commercial success.
The Plant of the Year shortlist also reflected the show’s growing appetite for bold forms and vibrant palettes. Hosta ‘Silly String’, with its slender, tightly curled blue foliage, drew curiosity and admiration. At the same time, Salvia TROPICOLOUR SUNRISE (‘Tropog21’) dazzled in sherbet-pink and orange, offering serious pollinator appeal and unmistakable retail potential.
Beyond the headline gardens, other standouts emerged across the showground. Freedom to Flourish was awarded both Best Small Garden and Best Construction in that category, while Seawilding took home Best All About Plants Garden, praised for its narrative depth and biodiversity. Blue Mind Garden led the Balcony & Container entries, and Raymond Evison Ltd’s clematis exhibit was crowned Best in the Great Pavilion—one of 55 Gold medals awarded this year.
Sustainability also took a spotlight turn, with the clever retail packaging by POTR named RHS Chelsea Sustainable Business of the Year, Sneeboer honoured for their Garden Scoop as Sustainable Garden Product of the Year, and MONC Eyewear recognised for its Sustainable Lifestyle Product—each award affirming the show’s broader commitment to green innovation, not just green spaces.
A Landmark Week for Ornamental Horticulture
RHS Chelsea may have stolen the visual spotlight in London, but it also played a backdrop to high-level industry coordination. AIPH members and international trade bodies gathered in London to reaffirm cooperation on easing post-Brexit trade challenges, building on political momentum following the EU-UK Leaders’ Summit.
The HTA, a long-standing AIPH member and Chelsea exhibitor, welcomed colleagues from Union Fleurs, ENA and VGB—reflecting the vital role of dialogue alongside the display.
Earlier in the week, AIPH also supported the launch of GreenItaly, a new international trade exhibition hosted at the Italian Embassy. The event captured another kind of bloom: renewed energy in UK-EU horticultural trade relations.
AIPH Secretary General Tim Briercliffe, attending Chelsea as an RHS Veitch Memorial Medal recipient, said:
“Once again, RHS Chelsea Flower Show presented the highest horticultural standards and has provided inspiration for millions of people looking to improve their outdoor space. It was good to see many ideas for greening small spaces and the benefits of plants and gardening for health was very much in evidence. The global attention received by this event helps in reinforcing the importance of the horticulture industry.”
What It Means for Growers
For the professional grower, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 delivered both signals and substance. Compact flowering shrubs, climate-savvy design, interactive landscapes, and sustainably bred stars are all pointing toward a market increasingly shaped by story, stewardship, and sensory connection.
And while the show is staged on British soil, its ripple effect is international. Whether supplying plants to Europe, design concepts to Asia, or retail-ready novelties to North America, growers are navigating a world where expectations are evolving faster and more globally than ever before.
This year, RHS Chelsea Flower Show didn’t just look good—it had something to say. And in one garden, the plants said it themselves—via a web-based app.
