Space plants by mature spread

1. Every plant is drawn at its grown size

A plant is painted at the size recorded for it, and that starts at its mature spread, how much ground it covers once grown, pulled from real catalog data in metres. So the foliage you see is the footprint: space to that, not to the tiny seedling you would actually plant. It is also why a brand-new bed looks sparse.

Recorded a specimen smaller than its species size? Switch on Mature footprint (Settings → Canvas display) or the Footprint pill on the canvas bottom bar, and that plant gets a dashed ring at its full grown spread, with the gap reading as growing room. It is off by default, and a plant already at full size never gets a ring.

2. Review overlaps in the Overlaps panel

When two trees, shrubs or fruit trees sit close enough that their canopies overlap, open the Overlaps tool from the left rail. It only checks woody plants, in any combination of the three, since those genuinely compete for canopy space. Perennials, annuals and the like aren't flagged, as they're often planted in dense drifts on purpose, and neither is soft fruit: strawberries, currants and canes are grown in dense rows on purpose too. The panel lists each pair that needs a decision: move one, or hit Accept to mark the overlap intentional (handy when you’re deliberately underplanting).

On a calm garden it rests at Nothing is crowding, with a count of the woody plants it checked and three rows spelling out its limits: trees, shrubs and fruit trees, measured at full spread, trimmed hedges skipped. Before you have planted anything woody it reads No trees, shrubs or fruit trees yet and offers a Browse trees, shrubs and fruit button that opens the catalog already filtered.

Accept all at once Happy with a whole area? Use Accept all to clear every overlap in it in one go. Once they are all accepted the panel says every overlap here is marked intentional, and Undo on a pair brings it back for review.

3. Plan for year three

New gardens look sparse because mature plants need room. Watch it play out: well-spaced plants grow to fill their gaps into a full, healthy bed, while any planted too close grow straight into each other. Resist over-filling now and you get the good version in a couple of seasons.

4. Plan for the seasons

Spread is only half the picture. Click any plant to open its details and read the 12-month bloom calendar, then stagger spring, summer and autumn interest so the bed reads well right through the year, not just on the day you plant it.

Colour looks off? Foliage and bloom colours come from the catalog. If a species looks wrong for your variety, send feedback and the team refines it.