The garden drawing board
Your space.
A clearer plan.
Draw your space, see it in 3D and explore sun and shade. Use measured objects and a visible scale. Every edit is available through a form, including position and size.
An example replaces the drawing. A blank arrangement keeps your plot, notes and sun settings, and removes objects and measurement lines. Undo restores either change. Examples still need site checks.
How to move and edit objects
Tap a shape to select it. Turn on Move objects to drag; turn it off to scroll. With the drawing focused, arrow keys move by one increment; Shift moves ten. Escape cancels a drag. Ctrl/Cmd+Z undoes; Shift redoes. You can also use the edit form.
See the space, then check the light
Your drawing in 3D & sunlight
Use the same objects in both views. Set their vertical heights in “Edit an object”, then enter your site and explore a date. Your drawing and sun calculations stay in this browser. Open the sun settings below when you are ready to study your site.
Walk at eye level with W/A/S/D or arrow keys; Shift moves faster. Drag to look around. Escape returns to the overview. Buttons provide the same controls on touch screens. Camera position is temporary and does not edit your drawing.
Avoidance uses a 0.18 m camera radius and schematic solid parts. Plants and overhead crowns can be passed beneath or through. Check measured clearances separately.
Set my viewpoint
Drag the 3D view to turn it; Shift-drag pans. Use the buttons or keyboard, and “Walk through” for eye-level perspective. Tap a 3D shape to select it in the edit form. Orange outlines show the selected object. Choose furniture and structures from the object library, or rounded and conical plant models in the edit form. All three dimensions share the same scale; models remain schematic.
Your plot is ready. Add a furniture or structure model, or choose a plant with a measured height.
Sun & shade settings
Enter decimal coordinates and the UTC offset for your chosen date, including daylight saving. No address lookup, map service or location permission is needed. North is clockwise from the top of the drawing: 0° = top, 90° = right.
One day, across your garden
Gold: 6+ h sunPale green: 2–6 h part shadeBlue green: under 2 h shade
How to interpret this study
The solar position follows the NOAA fractional-year equations. Shadows project onto level ground. The daily map samples the centre of each of 64 cells every 30 minutes; it estimates unblocked direct sun on that date, rather than light intensity.
Only objects with a height cast shadows. Tree crowns are opaque cylinders above a clear trunk; shrubs and other plants are solid cylinders. Enter measured building heights and canopy bases. Add neighbouring obstructions inside a suitably enlarged drawing. Terrain, weather, off-plan obstacles, canopy gaps, seasonal leaf loss and future growth are excluded. A tree’s own shade appears on the ground map.
Compare several dates and actual site observations before choosing plants. This is an orientation tool, not a survey, structural specification or professional solar study. Default heights are illustrative; sourced mature heights added with plant candidates are not measurements of an existing plant.
Layout checks
Checks cover the plot boundary and drawn footprints. Plant circles use sampled boundary checks. Crop root-position circles do not check mature foliage overlap. They cannot certify access, construction, loading, plant compatibility or drainage. Plant canopy overlap may be intentional.
Plot shape & local outline import
Keep a rectangle or enter a measured outline. Coordinates start at the top left of the drawing; the last corner joins the first. Concave plots are supported. Objects and notes stay in place; check boundary notices after changing the outline.
Import my own GeoJSON outline
Choose a single Polygon from your own map or survey file. Import runs in this browser, with no upload or map lookup. Coordinates must be longitude, latitude; plots must be at most 1000 m in either direction. Dimensions use a local approximation and are not a survey. Holes and multiple plots are rejected.
Add furniture & garden structures
Original schematic models at editable dimensions. After adding, use the object form for size, height and rotation. Open pergolas cast shadows from posts and slats rather than a solid roof.
Align two objects
Align the selected object to another object’s outer edges or centre. Rotated structures use their enclosing bounds. Review any boundary or overlap notices afterwards.
Measure distances
Record a straight-line distance between two points. Values use the current input units. Lines appear in the drawing, 3D view and exported notes; they do not certify usable clearance.
Reserves the upper source-reported mature spread. Read the profile for light, soil and local suitability. Move the new circle to a suitable position.
Restore a downloaded plan
Choose a Garden Ideas Now JSON plan, up to 1 MB. A valid import replaces the current drawing; Undo can restore it. Keep an export of any work you want to retain.
Saved in this browser on this device when storage is available. Download a copy before clearing browser data, changing device or using private browsing. The drawing is an arrangement tool; qualified local review is still needed for structural, electrical, tree-root or drainage work.