"A new AI-powered smart garden will allow you to interact with your flowers and soil."
Smart gardens will know when they need to be watered.
The concept of "smart" gardens, co-designed by Microsoft, will offer an innovative experience at the famous Chelsea Flower Show in the UK in 2025. These gardens will use advanced sensors to monitor the health of the garden, feeding an artificial intelligence model based on plant data. In this way, the gardens will not only be able to inform when to water, prune, or fertilize, but will also offer visitors the opportunity to interact conversationally with the plants.
Created by garden designer Tom Massey in collaboration with Microsoft, the project called "Intelligent Garden" will include multiple sensors that collect real-time information about crucial environmental factors, such as soil moisture, pH levels, nutrient levels, air quality, temperature, and precipitation. In addition to providing useful data for any gardener, the AI model will be proactive, analyzing conditions and anticipating changes.
Massey indicated that the interactivity of the garden will allow visitors to ask questions, to which the garden will be able to respond, for example, indicating that it needs more water or a haircut. This means that the "smart" garden will be able to communicate its needs and health status.
During the event, scheduled from May 20 to 24, 2025, attendees will have the chance to interact with a digital version of the garden, which will "respond" to questions based on live data, providing a clear insight into its well-being.
Beyond the novelty, one of the primary goals of this initiative is to promote the efficient use of resources. By understanding the characteristics of their garden in detail, caretakers can provide only what is necessary, avoiding waste. A clear example of this is water conservation: in a smart garden, irrigation will be adjusted to soil moisture in specific areas, rather than following a general schedule.
The use of sensors in gardens is not something new. There are devices like the Netatmo Smart Home Weather Station, which, along with a Smart Rain Gauge, track rainfall and other environmental data. Holman, for its part, offers a Smart Moisture Sensor that connects to automated irrigation systems and adjusts the watering schedule based on soil needs. However, smart gardens promise a significant advancement with conversational interfaces and a more dynamic and predictive model.
Thanks to these sensors, which will be the main source of data, artificial intelligence will be able to integrate information in real time and form an overview of the garden's health. Over time, the system will learn seasonal needs and detect irregularities, facilitating not only the reduction of water waste and related expenses but also ensuring that plants remain healthy and vibrant.
The application of this technology is essential and becomes even more relevant in the face of climate change, where understanding the needs of green spaces will be increasingly vital.
