Spacelift, an AI-powered garden design platform created with landscape designer Matt Keightley, will debut at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026, integrating AI into a traditionally bespoke design industry.
Co-founded by Matt Keightley and Chief Executive Maeve McDonald, the subscription-based platform combines AI, spatial mapping and digital planning tools to help homeowners design and deliver outdoor spaces. Users can capture and map their gardens, generate tailored concepts and receive scaled layouts, planting plans and materials specifications intended for real-world implementation.
According to the company, the platform has been developed using principles drawn from Keightley’s professional design methodology, including spatial flow, planting composition and environmental response. Outputs combine photorealistic visualisations with technical plans designed to be build-ready.
Spacelift said the platform reflects growing demand for digital tools that move beyond inspiration and towards practical, implementation-focused design services. Alongside design functionality, the platform includes supplier links and access to recommended local trades. Future developments are expected to include plant health monitoring, maintenance guidance, biodiversity planning and sustainability tracking.
The launch at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is likely to intensify debate around the role of AI in landscape and garden design, with some questioning how far automation could encroach on traditionally creative and consultancy-led work. Others see AI-assisted platforms as tools that could streamline early-stage planning, widen access to design and create new commercial opportunities for the sector.
Spacelift is not the first AI-infused project at the show. In 2025, the garden designer Tom Massey and Je Ahn of Studio Weave partnered with AI specialists Avanade, founded by Microsoft and Accenture, to explore how artificial intelligence could support urban trees facing increasing pressure from climate change, harsh city environments and limited aftercare. However, AI was not used to design their garden. At the time, Massey emphasised that human input remains central to landscape design, stating that humans have a unique connection to nature that cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence.
Spacelift will make its public debut through three full-scale gardens designed using the platform. The installations include a rural-inspired scheme using reclaimed materials, a compact urban balcony garden and a woodland-themed wellbeing space incorporating a sauna and cold shower.
Keightley is a UK landscape designer and co-founder of Rosebank Landscaping, known for contemporary, planting-led garden design across residential and public projects. He has exhibited multiple gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where he has received several awards, including Silver-Gilt medals and two BBC/RHS People’s Choice awards.