The garden is hoping to revolutionise how trees are cared for in cities
The Avanade Intelligent Garden at Mayfield Park (Image: Studio Egret West)
An AI-powered garden that allows people to talk to trees is set to come to Mayfield Park in the future. The garden will also let trees ‘alert’ gardeners if they’re under stress – helping them to be better cared for in city environments.
Following its debut this month at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025, the Avanade Intelligent Garden – designed by award-winning duo Tom Massey and Je Ahn – will become a part of a major extension of Mayfield Park.
The garden features Avanade’s pioneering AI technology that allows you to support the health and survival of urban trees, with trees being able to ‘alert’ gardeners if they’re under stress – enabling more responsive, proactive and preventative care.
But one of the most visionary aspects of the concept is TreeTalk – an interactive AI tool that enables two-way communication between park staff and trees. The system allows questions like “How are you feeling?” or “What do you need?” to help guide horticultural decisions.
Tom Massey said: “Urban trees are some of our most powerful allies in tackling climate change – cooling our cities, filtering air pollution, supporting biodiversity, and improving our wellbeing.
“But they’re under constant pressure, and too many don’t survive long enough to deliver their full value.“By bringing the Avanade Intelligent Garden to Mayfield, and expanding the technology we are piloting at RHS Chelsea across a living, much-used urban park, we hope to test this innovation in a real-world setting and gather valuable data over the longer term.
“By combining smart, responsive technology with human stewardship, our aim is to give trees the best possible chance – not just to survive, but to thrive for generations to come.”
Debuting at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the garden will now move to Mayfield Park – dubbed “the blueprint for the park of the future” by leading urban horticultural specialist, Nigel Dunnett – to apply these innovations in a living urban landscape. Their aim is to transform how its trees are monitored and cared for, and offer a model for how cities could better support their green spaces.
The Avanade Intelligent Garden by Tom Massey and Je Ahn
As the project evolves there are plans for Avanade’s AI assistant to operate across a network of sensors – gathering real-time data on tree growth, soil conditions, air quality and weather patterns. In turn, this would enable the AI to provide intuitive, responsive insights into each tree’s condition and offer recommendations to support its care.
Annette Giardina, Chief Innovation & Sustainability officer, from Avanade UK said: “Working on the Avanade Intelligent Garden has been a true passion project for our team.
“By combining our deep industry expertise and Microsoft’s leading AI technology, we’re proud to demonstrate how innovation can help custodians build more resilient, sustainable environments – and give urban trees a stronger future.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see our solution find a permanent home at Mayfield Park, helping shape the park of the future and proving that when technology and nature collaborate, cities thrive.”
The Avanade Intelligent Garden will be the first part of a wider development linking Mayfield Park to Manchester Piccadilly. It will be located next to the Mayfield Depot and the Star & Garter pub.
Mayfield Park is the first city-centre park built in Manchester for 100 years and has transformed a previously derelict area of the city into a biodiverse expanse of green and blue.
It currently includes a seasonally-shifting mix of 63,000 plants, a wildflower meadow, ornamental grasses and 140 trees of 40 different species.
Mayfield Park, Manchester(Image: Richard Bloom)
Danny Williams, Estates Manager at Mayfield Park said: “Mayfield is proud to be at the forefront of innovation as the UK’s first AI-enabled urban park.
“This collaboration with Avanade marks an exciting step in the future of sustainable green space management, allowing us to harness cutting-edge technology to enhance biodiversity, improve resilience, and ensure Mayfield remains a thriving, beautiful space well into the future. “The Avanade Intelligent Garden offers a pioneering model for how cities can better care for their green spaces—optimising resources, enhancing biodiversity, and shaping the future of urban nature. We are excited to welcome it to Mayfield.”