Drawing a plan of your garden and plot
A garden plan lets you decide everything before digging: where the terrace, the pool, the shed and the planting go. It is drawn like a house plan, with a few extra rules.
The method
Draw the plot boundaries
Take the boundaries from your deeds or the land registry map, then check them on site. In Plan², draw them with the Wall tool at partition thickness to show fences and hedges.
Place the house
Draw the outline of the house at its real distance from the boundaries: it is the most useful measurement on the plan.
Add the surfaces
Terrace, pool, paths: each comes from the library and resizes to the centimetre.
Plant
Trees and hedges are placed like objects. Give them their full-grown spread, not their size on planting day.
Plan the access
Gate, parking space, car, camper van: check that a vehicle gets in and parks.
What to check before you build
- Planting distances from a boundary are set by law in many countries; in France, trees taller than 2 m must stand at least 2 m from it.
- A pool, a shed or a fence may need a permit or a notice depending on its size and on local rules.
- Your local planning authority sets heights and setbacks: check with them before deciding.