is primarily a garden care and irrigation company, but the garden planner tool that it employs is a nifty one that can be used exclusively for garden design and planning your garden layout ideas. We logged out and back in again and were pleased to see that our design had been saved. Just a warning that the design you’ve created can’t be printed, exported or shared unless you pay, but you could always screen-shot it. There’s help in the form of a tutorial that you can watch and there’s live chat available too.

They’re displayed in black and white but once you drag them onto your design, they transform into colour and are a cinch to re-size and position. The SmartPanel on the left allows you to choose from hundreds of symbols, from palm trees to birdbaths and everything in between. Each decision you make is automatically saved but can be swiftly undone if you change your mind. If you’ve plumped for a pre-designed template, you can drag items around really easily as well as deleting items completely or cutting and pasting to produce duplicates this is handy if, for example, you wanted a whole row of trees in your design rather than just one. And it’s not just for gardens! There are also templates for patio spaces, decked areas and if you’re reaching for the stars, even swimming pools. The online garden planning tool,, allows you to select a garden template (you have to set up an account first) that can be blank or pre-designed. We’ve tried and tested a range of garden planning tools and chosen ones that standout for their ease of use or particular features, be it the viewing angles they offer or the option to see your garden in the future, but one thing they all have in common is – they’re free! 1.

Best free landscape design apps