As of 13 August 2026, AI can design your small UK garden.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, no skill needed, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open a notes app and record the garden's length, width, orientation, access points, existing features and any slopes, drains or retaining walls.
   2. Take photographs from each corner and from the house, including the boundaries, shaded areas, paving, soil and anything that must stay.
   3. Gather the intended uses, style preferences, maintenance level, plant dislikes, known soil or drainage issues, budget and timescale, then paste them into the prompt's brackets.
   4. Paste the completed prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask it to produce the layout, planting plan, shopping list, work sequence and maintenance plan.
   5. Draw the proposed layout on paper or in Planner 5D using the measured garden dimensions, and reject any path, bed, shed or seating area that does not physically fit.
   6. Check every proposed plant against a current UK nursery or gardening reference for mature size, light, soil, hardiness and safety before buying it.
   7. Use the uncertainties list to inspect drainage, boundaries, utilities and any wall or electrical work, and ask a qualified local person to assess construction or services before starting.
   8. Buy only the checked plants and materials, then follow the work sequence while adapting it to the actual soil and conditions you find.

   Prompt

   Design a practical small UK garden from the information below. Use metres and British English. Do not invent measurements, sunlight, soil conditions, plants I already own or local rules. Where information is missing, state the assumption and give an alternative.
   
   Garden dimensions: [length and width]
   House and garden orientation or approximate aspect: [information]
   Photographs or description of the space: [information]
   Existing features to keep: [information]
   Access, gates, sheds, walls, fences and drains: [information]
   How the garden is used: [seating, children, pets, growing food, storage or other uses]
   Style preferences: [information]
   Maintenance I can manage: [low, moderate or high]
   Plants I like or dislike: [information]
   Known soil, shade, wind or drainage issues: [information]
   Budget and timescale: [information]
   
   Produce:
   1. A simple top-down layout with approximate dimensions that add up to the stated garden dimensions.
   2. A planting plan grouped by position, with each plant's mature size, light preference, soil preference, flowering or interest period and maintenance needs. Mark anything that needs checking for hardiness, toxicity, invasiveness or suitability around pets or children.
   3. A materials and shopping list, separating essentials from optional items.
   4. A work sequence from preparation to planting and aftercare.
   5. A maintenance plan by season.
   6. A list of uncertainties and site checks I must complete before buying plants or building anything.
   
   Avoid recommending structural walls, major drainage changes, electrical work or permanent construction without clearly telling me to get an appropriately qualified local person to assess it. Keep the design realistic for a small UK garden and explain the trade-offs between privacy, seating, storage, planting space and maintenance.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.