Award-winning sustainable garden for Chelsea Pensioners is built using H-UKR decarbonised cement

A new garden for the world-famous Chelsea Pensioners unveiled in the grounds of the historic Royal Hospital Chelsea was created using cutting edge H-UKR™ low-carbon cement.
The woodland garden was first created at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, by designer Dave Green, aiming to honour the veterans who live at the Royal Hospital while proving that a show garden can be beautiful and low-carbon.
The London Square Chelsea Pensioners Garden used H-UKR™, Hoffmann Green’s 0 %-clinker cement, for its paved areas and walkways, supplied to the project for free by CemBlend.
And, on July 17, it was officially unveiled having been moved to its new permanent home in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Every element of the garden, from the most fragile ferns to the slabs of York stone paving, has now been transported just 300 metres from its plot at the Chelsea Flower Show to its new permanent home in The Prince of Wales Courtyard in the grounds of the Grade I and Grade II* listed Royal Hospital, transforming the centre of the quadrangle.
And beneath the stunning landscaping, the garden sits on a low carbon foundation constructed using H-UKR™.
Keagan Badenhorst, Technical Sales Manager at CemBlend, said: “From the moment construction began, the team behind the garden were looking to reduce every kilo of embodied CO₂, and we were delighted to be able to help by supplying H-UKR™.
“One area for the team’s consideration was the concrete base for the walkways. A tonne of ordinary CEM I cement usually carries about 840 kg of CO₂ — so the three-tonne concrete package needed for walkways and the communal area would have clocked up hundreds of kilograms of emissions before any plants were even unloaded.
“Instead, we supplied the mix with H-UKR™, Hoffmann Green’s 0%-clinker cement. Manufactured cold and entirely clinker-free, H-UKR’s footprint is roughly a sixth of CEM I. That swap cut the garden’s concrete emissions from about roughly 400 kgs to just 71kgs CO₂, a saving of over 300 kgs without changing day-to-day site practice.”
With the Chelsea Flower Show’s famously tight programme in mind, the crew mixed, placed, finished and cured the concrete mix exactly as they would a standard mix.
The garden, which was supported by leading property company London Square, went on to be awarded a prestigious Gold Medal at the show, and was visited by the Queen, David Beckham and large crowds who flocked to see the Chelsea Pensioners in the exquisitely designed woodland space.
Now, in its new home, the garden is filled with striking trees, plants and shrubs, with a seating space sheltered under elegant oak arches. The centrepiece of the garden is a British oak dining table designed and made by The King’s Foundation Snowdon School of Furniture workshops at Highgrove. The table is inset with a decorative brass map of the world, for the Pensioners to gather round and recall their service and travels and provide a talking point with family, friends and non-resident veterans who will be invited to visit the garden.
It will also stand as an example of how low-carbon ambitions and brilliant garden design can work hand-in-hand. With the final concrete base at the new location once again using H-UKR, the CO₂ savings were doubled .
Keagan added: “In its permanent home inside the Royal Hospital grounds, the Chelsea Pensioners can enjoy the garden year-round.
“Along the way, the project demonstrated to thousands of visitors and millions of BBC viewers that you don’t have to wait for tomorrow’s technology to decarbonise concrete — H-UKR is ready today.”