The Functional Garden Blueprint
From Ideas to a Garden You'll Love.
Plan, design, build and grow a beautiful, functional garden with one easy-to-follow, illustrated 10-step framework. Complete with practical workbooks, planning tools, calculators, build plans and everything you need to create your own garden blueprint.
Any space.Any climate.Any experience level.
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your own garden blueprint ↑You're not alone
Does This Sound Familiar?
You have ideas but no clear plan.
Pinterest boards, half-started beds and a list of plants, but no idea what to do first.
You want a garden that fits your life.
Your time, your space and your lifestyle, not someone else's perfect backyard.
You're unsure what will actually grow.
Advice online is written for other climates, other seasons and other hemispheres.
You're tired of trial and error.
Plants that didn't make it and materials you didn't need add up fast.
You don't need more conflicting gardening advice. You need a clear plan designed around your own conditions.
How it works
Not Just a Guide. A Complete System.
The Blueprint walks you through ten connected steps. At each one you learn a little, do a simple exercise in your own space and fill in a page of your plan.
By the end you haven't just read about gardening. You've created a personalised blueprint for your garden: your conditions, your layout, your plants, your build list and your routine.
You don't just read the Blueprint. You create your own as you go.
Before
garden ideas??
- • tomatoes… where?
- • somewhere to sit
- • kids want a pond!
- • is it too shady?? 🤔
After
Step 01 · Worksheet
Define your goals
- ✓Grow herbs and salad greens
- ✓A sunny spot to sit
- ✓Low beds the kids can reach
- Attract bees and birds
What you get
Everything You Need, All in One Place.
A working toolkit you fill in for your own space, not just a book to read.
The Illustrated Guide
Understand every step before you dig.
The full ten-step process in approachable writing and detailed illustrations.
Practical Workbooks
Turn reading into a real plan.
Exercises, checklists, templates and fill-in worksheets for every step.
Sun Mapping Resources
Put every plant where it will thrive.
Observe sun, seasonal shade and site conditions with guided worksheets.
Climate Discovery
Know what grows where you live.
Understand your weather, frost, rainfall and suitable plants, in either hemisphere.
Planning Calculators
Buy the right amount, first time.
Estimate materials, growing medium, quantities, spacing and budget.
Garden Design Templates
Sketch your layout to scale.
Scaled planning grids, layout worksheets and worked examples.
Build Plans & Supply Lists
Build with confidence.
Illustrated construction sequences, measurements, materials and checklists.
Planting Resources
Choose plants that suit your space.
Plant-selection worksheets, planting plans and growing-condition notes.
Maintenance & Garden Journal
Keep it thriving, season after season.
Schedules and templates for care, harvests, observations and improvements.
PDF guide and Printable resources are in your download. Web tools run free on this site.
Try a planning tool
Growing-medium calculator
You'll need about
864 litres
≈ 18 bags of growing mix
Buy a little extra: mix settles after watering. The Blueprint shows how to blend and layer it.
The 10-step framework
10 Practical Steps. One Garden That Works for You.
Each step builds on the last. You learn, you do, and you create one page of your own garden blueprint.
- 01
Define Your Goals
- Learn:
- What you really want from a garden.
- Do:
- List your priorities, budget and the time you actually have.
You createGoals, priorities, budget and available-time worksheet
- 02
Understand Your Space
- Learn:
- How to read a site's opportunities and limits.
- Do:
- Measure your space and note access, water and existing features.
You createMeasured site map and site assessment
- 03
Find Your Climate
- Learn:
- Climate, frost, rainfall and microclimates, anywhere.
- Do:
- Research your local conditions with the discovery guide.
You createPersonal growing-conditions profile
- 04
Map Your Sun
- Learn:
- How sun and shade move through the day and seasons.
- Do:
- Observe your site in the morning, at midday and in the afternoon.
You createSunlight and shade map
- 05
Design Your Garden
- Learn:
- Zones, paths, beds and how good layouts work.
- Do:
- Combine your maps into a layout on the scaled grid.
You createPersonalised garden layout
- 06
Build It Step by Step
- Learn:
- Construction order, materials and techniques.
- Do:
- Choose your projects and work through the illustrated plans.
You createIllustrated build plan and materials checklist
- 07
Plant Your Garden
- Learn:
- Matching plants to sun, space and climate.
- Do:
- Shortlist plants and place them on your layout.
You createPlant selection and planting plan
- 08
Maintain Your Garden
- Learn:
- The simple routines that keep a garden healthy.
- Do:
- Build a care schedule that fits your week.
You createPractical maintenance schedule
- 09
Harvest and Use
- Learn:
- When and how to harvest, store and share.
- Do:
- Track what you pick and how you use it.
You createHarvest and usage tracker
- 10
Reflect, Plan and Grow
- Learn:
- How to learn from each season.
- Do:
- Review what worked and plan your next improvements.
You createGarden journal and ongoing improvement plan
Ten pages, one plan: your personalised garden blueprint.
Look inside
See Exactly What You'll Be Working With.
A workbook exercise, a completed garden layout and an illustrated build plan, from the same garden followed start to finish.
Step 04 · Worksheet
Map your sun
Step 05 · Your plan
Completed garden layout
Beds sit where the sun map showed 6h+ of sun. Pond fits the low corner.
Step 06 · Build plan
Raised bed, 1800 × 1200 mm
- 1Level the area and add a weed barrier
- 2Build the frame from untreated timber
- 3Add a drainage layer
- 4Line with geotextile fabric
- 5Fill with growing medium
- 6Plant and mulch
| Timber sleepers 1800 mm (6 ft) | × 4 |
| Timber sleepers 1200 mm (4 ft) | × 4 |
| Corner posts | × 4 |
| Geotextile fabric | 2.5 m² (27 sq ft) |
Real projects
From First Sketch to Finished Garden.
Planning examples and builds created by Little Urban Garden, the same process you'll follow.
The starting garden every build begins from
Raised-bed build plan with layers and dimensions
Jesse's own garden: herbs, beds and tomatoes in progress
Why we created this
Built by an engineer who loves to garden
Little Urban Garden grew out of years of gardening and helping friends, schools and community gardens with their projects. Engineering taught us that good results start with a clear plan, so the Blueprint is built around understandable plans and clear build instructions.
Built something with the Blueprint? Share it with #LittleUrbanGarden or email us.
Get the Blueprint
Your Garden Starts With a Plan.
The complete framework, practical workbooks, planning resources and illustrated instructions to create a garden that works for you.
The Functional Garden Blueprint
Digital edition
- The 10-step framework, from goals to harvest
- The Illustrated Guide · PDF guide
- Practical Workbooks · Printable
- Sun Mapping Resources · Printable
- Climate Discovery · PDF guide
- Garden Design Templates · Printable
- Build Plans & Supply Lists · PDF guide
- Planting Resources · Printable
- Maintenance & Garden Journal · Printable
Coming soon as free web tools: Planning Calculators.
One-time purchase · Australian dollars, GST included · pay in your own currency at checkout
- Access:
- Digital PDF, emailed to you after purchase. Read on any device or print at home
- Refunds:
- Download problems are fixed or refunded. Full terms on our refund policy page. Refund policy
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- No account needed
- Emailed to you
FAQs
Questions, answered
Is it suitable for complete beginners?
Yes. Nothing is assumed. Every term is explained, and each step ends with a simple exercise you do in your own space.
Will it work for balconies or very small spaces?
Yes. The same ten steps apply to a balcony, courtyard, backyard or larger plot. The exercises scale to the space you have, including container growing.
Does it work in any country or climate?
Yes. Instead of one country's planting dates, you learn to find your own growing conditions, in either hemisphere. Measurements are given in metric and imperial.
Do I need special equipment or software?
No. The guide is a PDF that opens on any phone, tablet or computer. Worksheets can be filled in on screen or printed. A tape measure helps for mapping your space.
What exactly do I receive?
The illustrated guide plus the printable workbooks, sun-mapping and climate resources, design templates, build plans and planting and maintenance resources listed above. Anything marked “coming soon” isn't included yet.
Can I print the worksheets?
Yes. Every worksheet and template is designed to print cleanly at home on A4 or US Letter paper.
How do the calculators and mapping tools work?
Sun mapping is done with printable worksheets: you observe your space at set times and shade the map. The planning calculators will be free web tools on this site; you can try the growing-medium calculator above.
How do I access the files after purchase?
After checkout you'll get a receipt by email, and we'll email your PDF to the same address. No account is needed. If it hasn't arrived, check your spam folder or email us and we'll sort it out.
What are the refund terms?
If your download doesn't work or isn't as described, we'll fix it or refund you. Our full refund policy is linked below and shown before you pay.
From your first sketch to a flourishing garden.
Any space. Any climate. Any experience level. Start your blueprint today.