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Chelsea Pensioners celebrate a garden of their own at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

14 May 25

The London Square Chelsea Pensioners Garden is sponsored by leading real estate developer London Square, pledging its support as the inaugural corporate patron for the important work and heritage of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home to the Chelsea Pensioners. The Royal Hospital Chelsea provides the magnificent backdrop to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with the show taking place in the grounds of the Grade I and Grade II* listed landmark. After the show, the garden will be relocated as a permanent feature within the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

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Award-winning designer Dave Green has worked closely with the Chelsea Pensioners to create a garden shaped by their stories and past experiences, while aiming to reflect the 330-year-old heritage of the Royal Hospital as: “a home for soldiers broken by age and war.” The garden will be a private yet accessible space to be enjoyed by different generations, the Pensioners, their families, friends and non-resident veterans, fostering a spirit of participation and keeping active in later years.

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The garden offers an immersive, natural environment to encourage the Pensioners, their families and visiting veterans to come together, away from public view. Vibrant planting to the garden boundaries will reflect the public life of the Pensioners, with calmer and more textural planting to the centre capturing their more private moments.

The planting in the garden includes trees and plants selected for climate resilience, with the path and the paving will be made from reclaimed stone and selected to reflect materials used in the historic setting of the Royal Hospital. Throughout the garden, low carbon materials have been selected, with a cement-free build and products that are highly sustainable.

The woodland space, filled with striking trees and a sheltered, accessible central space with seating and cushions specially made by prisoners' rehabilitation charity Fine Cell Work from recycled ceremonial scarlet Pensioners’ uniforms.

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The Pensioners were keen to highlight how their travels around the world during service and after always provides a connection with people they meet. The King's Foundation's Snowdon School of Furniture were commissioned to design and make a British oak dining table, inset with a decorative brass map of the world, forming a centrepiece for the garden for the Pensioners to gather round and provide a talking point with visitors. The table was made in The King's Foundation's Snowdon School of Furniture workshops at Highgrove and was designed and made by Hannah Evans and Lily Hitchcock, recent alumni of The Snowdon School of Furniture, working with the School's manager Nick Wright.

“With several veteran relatives, I have first-hand experience of the sacrifice the armed forces personnel and their families make for the benefit of the country. It has been a privilege and a joy to be able to work with London Square, the staff at the Royal Hospital, the Chelsea Pensioners, The King’s Foundation and all the partners on creating a garden that is accessible, sustainable and with a social space to help improve the wellbeing of the Chelsea Pensioners and their visitors.”

The garden’s designer Dave Green

“We are delighted that a garden that our residents, the Chelsea Pensioners have helped design, is on show at the Chelsea Flower Show, thanks to the support of London Square. Many of the Chelsea Pensioners have a passion for gardening and enjoy the beautiful green spaces across our site. The relocation of this garden will mean that it will continue to inspire and be enjoyed, for many years to come.”

David Richmond, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Hospital Chelsea

“The Royal Hospital Chelsea’s work with the Pensioners and non-resident veterans is inspirational and we will be supporting their vital work over the coming years. Throughout our developments, we believe that attractive, communal green spaces provide an important place for residents of all ages to come together. We are thrilled to work with the Chelsea Pensioners on a garden specially designed for them which will live on as a permanent feature.”

London Square’s Chief Executive Officer Adam Lawrence

“Our graduates have thoroughly enjoyed working on this very special project. It’s fantastic to see our graduates thriving and being given their own commissions, and for them to be displayed in such a prominent and prestigious position at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This has been a great learning experience for them, and I hope their beautiful work in British timber will encourage more budding furniture makers to come and study with us at The King’s Foundation.”

Nick Wright, Snowdon School of Furniture Manager for The King’s Foundation

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This is the third garden to be sponsored by London Square at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with A Corner of a London Square, a gold medal-winning garden in 2014 by designer Jo Thompson and achieving another gold medal-winning garden by designer James Smith in 2023, with the London Square Community Garden.