Backyard Layout
120 m²
A backyard plan with patio, lawn, planting beds and an outdoor seating area.
Use TemplateLay out your garden (beds, paths, trees, seating) to scale and visualize the whole plot.
to scale
The most common fault in a garden layout is a border 40 ft long and 24 in deep. It can only hold one row of plants, so it reads as a line rather than as planting, and it is bare for most of the year. A mixed border needs 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m) of depth to carry three layers: structure at the back, mid height through the middle, and low planting at the front edge. If the plot cannot give that everywhere, give it in fewer places. Draw each border as a shape at true depth and the trade becomes obvious on screen instead of two seasons later.
Everything arrives small, which is why almost every new border is planted twice as densely as it should be. The rule that works is to space two neighbours at about half their mature spread, so a perennial spreading to 36 in (90 cm) sits about 18 in (45 cm) from a plant of the same size. Groundcover is the exception and goes in at 12 in (30 cm) so it closes over in two seasons. Draw each plant as a circle at its mature spread rather than as a dot, and the border either fills or it does not. Circles that overlap on the plan are plants that will be dug out later.
A planting layout has to work in the months when little is growing, and that is done with edges and structure rather than with flowers. A clean line between border and lawn, a clipped hedge, a repeated shrub down the length of a bed: those are what the garden looks like for half the year. A mowing strip of 6 to 8 in (15 to 20 cm) of paving laid flush with the turf lets the mower run past the border instead of fighting it. Hedges need their own room, so set the line back 18 to 24 in (45 to 60 cm) from a boundary and you can still clip both sides from your own ground.
Draw each border as an area against the wall, fence or lawn edge it sits on and read its depth off the live dimension label. Anything under 36 in front to back gets widened now, while it costs nothing more than moving a line.
Place the structural planting: hedges, large shrubs, anything that stays through winter. These fix the depth the border actually needs, and everything in front of them is arranged around what they already take up.
Add mid height and front planting as shapes drawn at mature spread rather than at nursery size. Where circles overlap on the plan, take a plant out. The border that looks sparse on paper is the one that looks right in three years.
Run the mowing strip or edging along the lawn side and confirm the line is one a mower can follow. Then switch to 3D to see the planting heights from the house, and export the plan as an image to take out to the beds.
Planting figures are all about mature size. A border is sized for what the plants become, spacing is set from spread rather than from the pot, and the edge detail decides how much work the layout costs every week. These are the numbers worth drawing before anything is bought, because a border planted at the wrong depth or spacing is corrected by digging plants back out.
| Measure | Imperial | Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed border depth, three planting layers | 6 to 8 ft | 1.8 to 2.4 m | Back, middle and front layers each need their own room. |
| Shallowest border worth planting | 36 in | 90 cm | Below this, use one repeated plant, not a mixture. |
| Herbaceous perennial spacing | 18 to 24 in | 45 to 60 cm | About half the mature spread of the plant. |
| Groundcover spacing for cover in two seasons | 12 in | 30 cm | Closer is wasted, wider leaves bare soil for weeds. |
| Medium shrub spacing | 4 to 5 ft | 1.2 to 1.5 m | For a plant reaching an 8 to 10 ft mature spread. |
| Formal hedge plant spacing, single row | 18 in | 45 cm | 12 in (30 cm) staggered where a double row is planted. |
| Hedge line set back from a boundary | 18 to 24 in | 45 to 60 cm | Roughly half the mature width, so it is clipped from your side. |
| Climber planted out from a wall base | 18 in | 45 cm | Clear of the dry rain shadow at the foot of the wall. |
| Small ornamental tree from a border edge | 6 to 8 ft | 1.8 to 2.4 m | So the canopy sits over the border, not over the lawn. |
| Bulb planting depth, standard daffodil | 6 in | 15 cm | About three times the height of the bulb itself. |
| Flush mowing strip beside a border | 6 to 8 in | 15 to 20 cm | Laid level with the turf so the mower runs over it. |
| Bed edging depth into the ground | 4 to 6 in | 10 to 15 cm | Deep enough to stop grass roots crossing into the bed. |
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Yes. The SpacePlanner garden layout planner is completely free to use online. You can start drawing instantly without signing up.
No. It runs entirely in your browser on desktop, tablet or mobile. There is nothing to download or install.
No. You can draw a full plan without an account. We only ask you to sign up when you want to save, export or share your work.
Yes. You can plan gardens, patios, backyards, pools and outdoor kitchens alongside indoor rooms on the same canvas.
Aim for 6 to 8 ft front to back if you want three layers of planting, and treat 36 in as the shallowest border worth mixing plants in. Draw the border as a shape in SpacePlanner and the live dimension label tells you what you actually have, which is usually less than it looks like on the ground.
This page is about planting layout: how deep the borders are, how far apart the plants go, and how the edges are handled. The garden planner covers the growing side, with vegetable bed reach depths, wheelbarrow path widths and compost. Both work on the same canvas, so a border drawn here can sit next to beds detailed there.
Yes. Draw each plant as a shape at its mature spread rather than at nursery size, and the plan shows whether the border fills without crowding. Everything is at true scale in metric or imperial, so a 36 in spread is a 36 in circle and overlaps show up before anything is planted.
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