You can create a blank plan, or start with one of our sample plans if you need some inspiration.

You can choose a blank plan in a preset size if you're not sure how large you want your garden to be yet, or set your own custom size if you know it. You can resize plans and create new plans for other areas later if you need to.

Think of the plan as a canvas that you will draw your beds or garden onto. Plans need to be at least 3'3" (1m) each way, and large enough contain your whole growing area including beds, containers, sheds, compost heaps, and other garden objects.

Make your garden plan large enough to include all of the beds, paths, and other areas you want to show on your plan. If your garden is an irregular shape, make your plan large enough to fit the whole area within it, and then use the Shape tools to draw its boundaries on the planning grid.

(Width and height in the Garden Planner refers to how your plan's dimensions are presented on screen, rather than width and length, to avoid ambiguity about direction.)

If you're not sure where to get started, we have created some sample plans based on plants that are suitable for your location. These are fully editable, so you can change them to suit which plants you want to grow and the size your garden and beds.

Add plants, remove plants, change sizes of beds, select a different type of path, pop in a greenhouse - have a play! You can always choose another sample plan or create a brand new blank plan later if you decide you want to try something different.

Click on the Live Chat icon in the Garden Planner if you need help or have questions for our gardening experts.