Novice gardeners and seasoned growers have many things in common, but one of the main shared traits is the joy that comes in planning what to grow every year.
Many of us have benefitted greatly from using planners in our growing endeavors, and we’ve rounded up eight of the best ones available right now. These online garden planners offer a wide range of features, so you’re sure to find the one that’s right for you!
What to Look For in Garden Planners
Everyone has their own personal preferences when it comes to calendars and journals. Some like things to be visual, while others prefer data and clear written notes. As such, think about the style that would work best for you, and narrow your search into that realm.
The online garden planners listed below offer a wide range of different features to appeal to all the different gardeners out there. As you go through them, consider how much guidance you’d like as you plan your garden, and what you’d like to get out of your planner.
For example, are you a seasoned gardener who’s planning a new space and would just like to map out beds with notes about good companion species?
Or are you a novice who’d like detailed help about when and how far to space seeds, with plenty of room for note-taking? We’ve covered all the different approaches you may need below, and have included apps as well as web-based planners and journals.
Online garden planners really help to take the guesswork out of your gardening designs. Since they’re digital, you know you’re not wasting paper by drawing and erasing things several times over as needed.
You can refer to many of these sites or apps to add notes or get assistance from professionals. Whichever you choose to use, they’re certain to help keep your gardening endeavors on track and will be invaluable references for future growing seasons.
If you’ve been holding back on using online garden planners or journals because you don’t think they’ll be of much use to you, check out our article on how to keep a garden journal to make you a better gardener.
It’ll fill you in on the many ways that planning and journalling are invaluable for all gardening initiatives. You’re putting a ton of time and effort into your outdoor spaces, so let’s ensure you get the right return on your investment!
8 Best Online Garden Planners
The online garden planners listed below are some of the best and highest-rated options for 2024. Some are web-based, while others are apps or cross-platform options that are available for both iOS and Android.
1. GrowVeg Garden Planner
The GrowVeg website offers one of the most comprehensive online garden planners. It allows you to drag and drop various plant icons to design your layout. It also gives guidance on companion planting and a personalized planting calendar so you know when to plant and harvest various species.
One of its best features is the ability to chat with gardening experts pretty much instantly, including on weekends. It also has both written and video guides on how to cultivate just about any species you’re aiming to grow.
Cost: Free trial, and then $35 USD per year
Pros: Exceptional garden planning, user-friendly interface, gardening support
Cons: May be cost-prohibitive for some users if they go beyond the free trial
2. Garden Designer by Gardener’s Supply
If your goal is to plan out and arrange where you’re going to plant various species this year, then add this one to your list of garden planners to check out.
It’s a simple, no-frills planner that offers a grid on which you can lay out where you’d like to place various grow beds. From there, you can add notes about what’s being planted where, and even use some of their cute little icons to map out what to plant where.
Cost: Free
Pros: Easy to use, and each icon has a guide with tips on plant care
Cons: Very rudimentary, doesn’t offer much in the way of advice or information
Garden Designer by Gardener’s Supply
3. Gardenize App
If you’re looking for a planner that you can take with you, then Gardenize may be right for you. Unlike the other online garden planners on this list, it isn’t a web-based platform: it’s an app that works on both IOS and Android, and is a multi-functional planning tool for any gardening needs.
Whether you’re growing tomatoes, tulips, or tamarind, it’ll adapt to whatever you want to grow.
With Gardenize, you can upload photos of your garden and various plants and use them to plan and record your gardening endeavors. You can also add dates and notes, and interact with other gardeners to share growing tips and advice.
Cost: Free basic version, in-app purchases for the premium version (which is ad-free and has more advanced planning options)
Pros: Comprehensive and detailed to keep things on track
Cons: Labor-intensive, with a complex interface that may be intimidating to some users
4. VegPlotter Website + App Combo
Are you looking for online garden planners that allow you to plan your ideal vegetable garden? If so, then check out VegPlotter. It’s a multi-platform planning guide specifically designed for those who would like to grow their own food.
In addition to letting you drag-and-drop icons to map out garden beds, VegPlotter offers invaluable advice about companion planting, spacing, watering needs, and when various species will ripen for harvest.
Cost: Ranges from free to $30 USD per year, depending on desired features
Pros: Easy to use, comprehensive, works on desktops, tablets, and mobiles
Cons: None that we’ve found so far
5. SmartGardener
This web/app combination is highly functional and user-friendly, with attributes that make it ideal for novice and experienced gardeners. In addition to being able to map out various beds, it offers to-do lists, journals, and alerts on when to plant, tend, and harvest various species.
SmartGardener is available on both iOS and Android and is ideal for those who would like to receive regular reminders and updates regarding vital plant care. In addition to the alerts and tips it offers about various species, such as companion planting and uses, it also allows users to keep detailed notes about everything they grow.
Cost: $15 USD for 90 days, or $40 for 360 days
Pros: Comprehensive, easy to use, cross-platform
Cons: May be cost-prohibitive for some users
6. From Seed to Spoon App
Seed to Spoon is another food-growing app that offers gardeners everything they need for a successful growing season. It’s an easy-to-use, cross-platform app that offers a vast amount of information and help for anything you’d like to grow.
While it doesn’t have the option to map out different beds with a visual interface, it does have an extensive list of compatible species, as well as their sun and water needs, growing timelines, watering reminders, and harvesting recommendations.
You can use it to track your garden’s progress with photos and notes, and it’ll also give you warnings about potential pests that may damage your plant during each season. At 4.8 stars on both iOS and Android sites, it’s one of the highest-rated online garden planners available right now.
Cost: Free, with in-app purchases for Premium features, which are $6.49 USD for one month, $34.99 for six months, or $60.99 for a full year
Pros: One of the highest-rated online garden planners available
Cons: Doesn’t allow you to create a visual “map” of your garden beds, and the most beneficial features are locked unless you buy the Premium version
7. Hortisketch + Garden Manager from GardenSavvy
GardenSavvy has created two online garden planners that are excellent for planning and maintaining various gardens. Hortisketch allows the user to map out garden beds full of compatible plant species, while Garden Manager is a tracking software program that lets gardeners take detailed notes about all the cultivars they’re growing.
These two can be used in tandem to encompass all gardening needs imaginable or as stand-alone apps. Both are user-friendly and available on iOS and Android, and they could offer invaluable help in any gardening initiative.
Cost: $3 to $34.99 USD annually, depending on the plans and apps chosen
Pros: Cosy, appealing interface with many options for adding information
Cons: Planning is split between the two programs, so you’d need to get both for full coverage regarding bed planning, detailed growing notes, etc.
8. Honorable Mention: Minimal Gardening Planner by Digicarft
Although this isn’t an online planner per se, it’s a digital download that could be immensely beneficial in your growing endeavors. Once you’ve planned out your space with one of the online garden planners mentioned above, consider printing this out to keep you on track.
While the planners you used to design your garden are great for arranging where everything will go, printouts like this one are ideal for keeping notes about what worked and didn’t work. That way, when you plan next year’s garden, you can look back on your various successes and challenges and re-arrange species accordingly.
If and when an online garden planning website goes down or your favorite app stops being updated, you risk losing all the data you’ve diligently added over the course of several months (or even years).
With printouts like these, you’ll have permanent notes with all of the most important info about your beautiful plants. Not only can you keep referring back to them forever, you can also pass them on to others who can learn from your experience.
Cost: $6 USD
Pros: Exceptional quality, with extensive sheets to fill out, and you can print off as many as you like as needed
Cons: You’ll need to print it yourself, or fill it out with a digital program like Adobe Illustrator or InDesign
