What Is a Planting Plan and Do I Need One?
Garden planning in Ireland
A clear planting plan gives your garden direction
A planting plan is not a luxury item for large gardens or big budgets. It is the document that tells you exactly what to plant and where to plant it. Without one, most gardens drift.
I have been designing and planting Irish gardens for more than thirty years. The planting plan I produce is called Planting by Numbers, a complete planting service that takes your garden from first conversation to bespoke plan to plants delivered to your door, labelled and ready to go in. On this page I explain what that process involves, who it is for, and what happens when you try to garden without a proper plan.
Already decided?
Skip the research and go straight to the service
If you already know your garden needs a proper planting plan and you want me to handle it from first conversation to plants delivered, this is where to go.
See the Complete ServiceConsultation, bespoke planting plan, and plants sourced and delivered. Plans start at around €1,750.
Peter Dowdall, Irish horticulturist and broadcaster, explains what a professional planting plan contains, which gardens genuinely need one, and what tends to happen in a garden that is planted without one.
The basics
What is a planting plan?
A planting plan is a professionally prepared document that specifies which plants should go into your garden, where each one should be positioned and how many of each you need. It translates a vision for your garden into a precise, actionable set of instructions.
The term is sometimes used loosely to mean any rough list of plants, but a proper planting plan is more than that. It takes into account the specific conditions of your garden: the soil type, the aspect, the existing structures, the style you are aiming for and how you want the space to look and function across all four seasons. It considers how plants will interact with each other as they mature, not just how they look on the day they are planted.
A well-prepared planting plan is drawn up by someone who understands plants deeply, who knows how they behave in Irish conditions, and who can read a garden's potential and constraints accurately. The plan that comes out of that process is not generic. It is specific to your garden, your taste and your situation.
"I live and breathe plants and planting design. The plants are the easy part. Knowing which plants, in which combination, in which positions, for your specific garden, that is where the expertise lies."
What a planting plan is not
A planting plan is not a list of plants you like the look of. It is not a suggestion that you might try a few things in a certain area. It is not a mood board or a collection of inspiration images. Those things have their uses but they are not a plan.
The distinction matters because a list of plants you like, planted without a plan, is one of the most common causes of garden disappointment. The plants may each be beautiful individually and still produce a garden that does not work. A proper plan prevents that.
Inside the plan
What does a planting plan contain?
A professional planting plan covers the full picture of what your garden needs, not just plant names.
A full plant list with specific varieties
Not just "a lavender" but the specific cultivar suited to your soil, your aspect and your desired effect. The difference between varieties within a single species can be significant and a good plan accounts for it. I select each plant for how it performs in Irish conditions, not for how it looks in a catalogue photograph.
Quantities and spacing
How many of each plant you need and how far apart they should go. Plants spaced too close together struggle and compete. Plants spaced too far apart leave the garden looking sparse for years. The right spacing comes from knowing how each plant will grow and what role it needs to play in the overall composition.
Positioning relative to each other and the site
Where each plant goes in relation to the garden's boundaries, structures, light sources and other plants. A good planting plan creates layers of height, seasonal interest across the year, and combinations of colour and texture that work together rather than competing.
Concept images of every plant
Every plant in your plan comes with a photographic reference image so you know exactly what you are getting before a single plant is ordered. You can see the flower colour, the foliage, the form and the scale. There is no guesswork and no surprises when the plants arrive.
Honest assessment
Do you need a planting plan?
Not every garden and not every situation requires a formal planting plan. But more gardens need one than most people think, and the gardens that need one most are usually the ones that currently do not have one.
If you are starting a garden from scratch, the answer is almost always yes. The decisions you make in the first planting season set the direction of the garden for years. Getting those decisions right from the start is far less costly than correcting them later, in money, in time and in the loss of established plants that turn out to be in the wrong place.
If you have an existing garden that is not performing the way you hoped, a planting plan gives you a framework for improving it systematically rather than making piecemeal changes that may or may not add up to something coherent. In my experience, a single well-considered plan saves people years of trial and error, and considerable money in plants that do not work out.
You are starting from scratch
New gardens and newly cleared areas are the strongest case for a planting plan. The ground is clear, the decisions are all ahead of you, and there is a real opportunity to get the foundation right. A plan at this stage costs a fraction of what replanting mistakes will cost later.
Your garden is not working
If you have been adding plants over the years and the garden still does not look or feel right, a plan gives you a clear framework for change. It identifies what is worth keeping, what needs to move and what the garden actually needs in order to become coherent.
You are making a significant investment
If you are about to spend a meaningful amount on planting or professional work, the cost of a plan is modest insurance against that investment not performing as hoped.
You want the garden to work for you
If you have a clear idea of how you want to use and experience the garden, whether for privacy, for cutting flowers, for low maintenance or for a particular look, a plan turns that ambition into a strategy that can actually deliver it.
The Complete Service
Consultation, planting plan and plants delivered to your door
If you know your garden needs proper direction, this is the most complete way to work with me. I handle everything from the initial assessment to a bespoke planting plan to sourcing and delivering the plants, labelled and ready to go in.
Every project begins with a consultation, and the fee comes off the design work that follows. Online consultation anywhere in Ireland is €295. On-site consultation in Cork and surrounding areas is €480 plus VAT. Plans start at around €1,750.
See how it worksWhat happens instead
What happens when you garden without a plan?
Gardening without a plan does not mean disaster. Many people garden without one for years and enjoy their gardens very much. But there is a recognisable pattern that emerges in gardens that have grown without direction, and it is worth understanding before you decide whether a plan is worth having.
The most common result is a garden that is almost right. Individual plants are attractive, certain corners work well, and there are moments in the year when the garden looks good. But the whole does not quite add up. There are gaps, clashes, areas that are bare at the wrong time, plants that have outgrown their space or are not performing in the conditions they have been placed in. The garden works, but it works less well than it could.
The second common result is repeated expenditure on plants that do not last or do not fit. Without a clear framework, plant buying tends to be driven by what looks appealing at the garden centre on a given day. The accumulated cost of that kind of planting over several years is often considerably more than the cost of a professional plan at the outset.
"The most expensive garden to maintain is one that was planted without a plan. You spend years correcting decisions that did not need to be made that way."
- Wrong plant in the wrong place, needing to be moved or replaced within a few seasons
- Bare patches because seasonal interest across the year was not planned for
- Overcrowding as plants mature beyond the space they were given
- Clashing colours, heights or textures that make the garden feel busy rather than coherent
- Repeated purchases of plants that do not suit the soil or the aspect
- A garden that looks good in photographs but does not feel right to spend time in
If you want to understand the thinking behind a plan before you commission one, my guide to planting design and garden structure in Ireland sets out how layering works. If cost is your first question, I explain what shapes the figure on the planting plan cost page.
Real gardens, real plans
Examples of my planting plan work
Every planting plan is specific to the garden and the people it is for. These are gardens I have planned and planted. There are further examples in my garden design portfolio.
Who prepares your plan
About me
Peter Dowdall
Horticulturist, garden designer and broadcaster
I have been designing and planting Irish gardens for more than three decades, from a base in Carrigaline, Co. Cork. My planting style is built on how plants actually perform in Irish conditions over the long term, rather than on how they look on the day they go in.
I present gardening on RTÉ and write a weekly column for the Irish Examiner, and I have answered questions from Irish gardeners for most of my working life. That breadth informs every planting plan I prepare. I have seen what works and what does not, in every soil type and every garden situation Ireland produces.
A planting plan from me is not a template. It is the product of that experience applied to your specific garden. Read more about my background.
Common questions
Questions about planting plans
These are the questions I am asked most often on this subject.
What is the difference between a planting plan and a garden design?
A garden design covers the full layout of a garden: hard landscaping, structures, paths, levels and boundaries as well as planting. A planting plan focuses specifically on the plants, what they are, where they go and how many. Many gardens already have a sound structural layout, and what they need is a clear planting plan to bring the planting into focus.
How much does a planting plan cost?
Plans start at around €1,750, and where a project sits above that depends on the size of the garden, how much of the layout is being reconsidered and how much detail the plan requires. Every project begins with a consultation, and that fee comes off the design work that follows. I set out the factors that move the figure on the planting plan cost page.
Can I plant the scheme myself, or do I need someone to plant it for me?
A planting plan gives you everything you need to plant the garden yourself if you want to. It tells you what to buy and exactly where each plant goes. If you would prefer the plants to be sourced and delivered for you, that is what the Complete Service provides.
How long does it take to get a planting plan?
After the consultation, I usually have the plan completed within three to four weeks, depending on the size of the garden and the time of year. If your situation is time-sensitive, such as a garden that needs to be planted before a particular season, it is worth making contact as early as you can.
Does a planting plan work for small gardens?
Small gardens arguably benefit most. In a small space every plant matters more and the consequences of a wrong choice are more visible. There is less room to absorb mistakes. A well-considered plan for a small garden uses the space intelligently and creates something that genuinely works rather than something that is trying to work.
What if I already have some plants I want to keep?
I prepare the plan in full awareness of what is already in your garden. Established plants that are worth keeping are incorporated rather than ignored or removed for the sake of a clean slate. Taking stock of what is already there is part of my assessment.
Is a planting plan the same as the Complete Service?
No. The planting plan is the document, a professional specification of what your garden needs and how to plant it. The Complete Service goes further. I source the plants and deliver them labelled and ready to plant, so you know exactly what goes where. Both start from the same assessment and the same bespoke planting plan.
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