Designing Your Dream Garden with ChatGPT: A Step-by-Step User Guide for Your AI Journey

I spent this week leveraging ChatGPT to help me rethink my new landscape and garden spaces based on maybe a bit too much of a splurge of new flowers this season. I thought I would share a sample structure in case you want to use AI to enhance your experience with nature!

What You Need to Have Ready Before You Start:

I am redesigning my landscape sections to my house so I needed to take measurements and pay attention to the amount of sun that actually reaches my four areas that I designed flower and plant design for around my house.

1. Garden Space Details:
   • Exact dimensions (length x width) of each planting area.
   • Orientation (sun exposure: full sun, partial sun, shade).
   • Any existing elements (shrubs, fences, lamp posts, etc.)
2. Plant Inventory (Optional but Helpful):

Going back through the process I wish I started with this ready to begin with. It made life so much easier. What I actually did was screenshot all my orders and then used ChatGPT to create a spreadsheet of my total plants available to me. I won’t post the entire list of plants, but here is what I ended up having as Tab 1 of my Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all total plants to begin with at the start. Moving forward for years to come I will begin with this in mind and have ChatGPT use the internet, links to the companies I purchased from to fill in all the details as necessary. I did not manually fill in each cell. I simply provided my screenshot orders and websites and ChatGPT filled in accordingly.

1. • List of plants you already have or want to use.
   • Include quantity, spacing requirements, sunlight needs, and bloom color/height.
2. Images (Optional): This is optional based on your privacy levels. I did not provide images for all four spaces, but I did for two spaces to create visual mockups for what the space will look like when flowers are in bloom.
   • Photos of the space from different angles.
   • Screenshots of layout ideas, inspiration, or garden beds you like.
3. Your Goals:
   • Example: “I want a low-maintenance pollinator garden that blooms all summer.”
   • Example: “I want to fill this area with colorful perennials and hide the AC unit.”

Step-by-Step Process to Follow with ChatGPT

Step 1: Share Your Plant List (If You Have One) User Action: Paste or upload your plant order or list.

Prompt:

Here is the list of plants I ordered. Can you organize them by height, spacing, sunlight needs, and bloom color/time?

Bonus Prompt:

Can you tell me which of these are best for front, middle, or back of the garden bed based on their height and color?

Step 2: Introduce Your Project User Action: Describe your space and your goals.

Sample Prompt to Copy and Modify:

I want help designing a flower bed. It measures 4 feet deep and 20 feet long. It gets full sun and currently has 3 boxwoods planted evenly along the back. I want to keep the boxwoods and plant colorful flowers in front of them. My goal is to have something that blooms spring to fall.

The prompt I used specifically:

Step 3: Ask for a Layout Design User Action: Request a layout based on spacing and existing plants.

Prompt:

Can you create a planting layout for this 4x20 garden that includes the boxwoods already planted every 5 feet? Use the flowers I listed and make sure they’re spaced appropriately.

Follow-up Prompt:

Can you show this in a visual grid format so I can see where each flower should go?
 Optional Step

You can also load up a sample layout of what you have in mind at this step as an image and ask for feedback. In my case I loaded up this design I put together through the iterations and ChatGPT provides new thoughts and ideas to consider that can help you see your space different than how our own bias sees the space.

For example, I loaded this grid layout and ChatGPT provided me initial thoughts, what is working well, and then suggested changes and improvements. And here are the improvements I was provided:

Suggested Changes/Improvements:

Here are a few gentle tweaks to enhance bloom longevity, contrast, and plant health:

1. Hosta Placement:

• Current: Both Medio-variegated hostas are in the far corners (Row 1).

• Suggestion: Shift one Hosta to a central front spot (e.g., in front of the center boxwood). This helps fill shade from the boxwood and balances the front visually.

2. Stagger Lilies & Buttercups:

• Stargazer Lilies and Buttercups are side-by-side in similar mirrored patterns.

• Suggestion: Consider alternating buttercups and lilies or interspersing one other plant between them (like an Extase Dahlia or Ruffled Yellow Begonia) to create more bloom rhythm.

3. Back Row Uniformity:

• The repeating Sunflower–Lily–Orienpet combo is cool but maybe a little too uniform.

• Suggestion: Swap one or two of the sunflowers for Colorful Investment Dahlia or Ball Mixture Dahlia (still tall) for variety and multi-season blooms.

4. Use a Few Taller Dahlias:

• You have lots of dahlias left, especially the Colorful Investment and Ball Mixture, which are around 3-4 ft tall. These could sub in for a sunflower or lily or be added as a mid-back stagger to extend color into fall.

5. Fill a Gap or Two in Row 2:

• A few Row 2 gaps feel underutilized. Consider popping in:

  • Toad Lily (if shade from boxwood exists)

  • Cherry Brandy Black-eyed Susan (for late summer pop)

  • Another round of Dahlia Mix Seeds or low-growing Gladiolus for texture.

Step 4: Visualize Your Garden in Bloom User Action: Ask for a realistic or stylized visual of the bed in bloom.

Use these type of prompts for ChatGPT to create grid layouts if you want a starting point. Here are some samples of what it can generate with prompts below. I find this to be decent. It does not do this perfectly, but does give me a visual sense of what could be. Now, if you load a picture of your space it will turn out better.

For the alternate prompt I never had pure accuracy in the visuals created, however, it sparked the beginning of me wanting to create an interactive spreadsheet to design my own spaces. And this is the power of leveraging these tools, not to do all the work and thinking, but to help us think and get excited about learning in new ways. While the plot images were flawed it lead to me creating a Excel spreadsheet I designed on own to create pages like below.

Prompt:

Can you create an image that shows what this flower bed might look like in full bloom from a front yard view?

Alternate Prompt:

Can you show me a labeled planting map using circles and bloom color for each type?

Step 5: Create a Printable Planting Guide User Action: Request a document you can print and use outside.

Prompt:

Can you turn this layout and flower info into a printable planting guide with spacing notes and color-coded sections?

Bonus Tools You Can Request:

• Remaining inventory list (what’s unused from your plant order)
• Seasonal bloom calendar based on your flowers
• Companion planting suggestions
• Wildlife-friendly or deer-resistant modifications

Tips for a Smooth ChatGPT Garden Experience:

• Be specific with dimensions and spacing.
• Mention where your walking paths, fences, and structures are.
• Ask for visuals regularly to help you conceptualize the space.
• Use phrases like “Can you adjust this layout to…” or “Let’s try this again but…” to refine designs easily.

Example Success Prompt:

Let’s redesign this layout so that the tallest flowers are against the fence and the shortest are near the sidewalk. Keep spacing accurate and use leftover plants from my inventory. Then show me what it would look like in bloom.

Closing Thought: You don’t need a landscape designer or fancy software. With a few details, ChatGPT becomes your personal landscape architect, bloom stylist, and garden coach. Let your creativity blossom—right from your screen to the soil.

And most important – use your human flavored touch. What I found through this experience is that I needed ideas to get started and then fell in love moving squares around to my own liking and found myself more excited for the planting as a result. I needed a spark or a bit of water to bloom my ideas and AI did just that, but in the end I used what I wanted to create spaces I look forward to this summer.