Draw a planting bed
Outline a planting area with straight or curved edges, then reshape it as your design develops.
On this page
Planting beds organize the parts of the property where plants will go. Draw the broad bed shape first. You can adjust its edges later as paths, structures, and plant arrangements take shape.
If you are tracing existing beds from aerial imagery or a plot plan, leave Tracing mode on until the main outlines are ready. Learn how to use Layers and Tracing mode.
Draw a new bed
Choose Plant bed
Choose Plant bed from the drawing tools. On a desktop, it is in the Beds group. You can also press B.
Add the main corners
Click around the outside edge of the bed in order. Use a point where the direction changes rather than placing many points along a straight edge.
Draw a curved edge
Click and drag while adding an edge to make it curved. Curves are useful around foundations, lawns, patios, and other rounded transitions.
Close the bed
Click the first point again to close the shape. You can also press Enter after adding at least three points.
For a bed that wraps around several objects, it can be easier to draw one broad bed first. Then use Subtract to carve out the house, other beds, paths, or hardscape.
On a phone or tablet, open Draw, choose Plant bed, and tap around the bed. Drag while adding an edge to make it curved, then tap the first point again to close the shape. Use the visible Undo control to remove the latest point.
Correct a mistake while drawing
Press Backspace to remove the latest point or segment. Press Esc to cancel the unfinished bed and return to Select.
Hold Space and drag, or scroll, when you need to move across the plan without putting down the bed tool.
Reshape an existing bed
Choose Select, then select the bed. Drag a corner or edge to change the outline. Zoom in before making a small adjustment.
On a wide screen, the bed’s properties open beside the canvas. On a phone or tablet, tap the Plant bed · Edit chip after selecting it to open the properties drawer.
A bed is usually easier to work with when it uses a small number of deliberate points. If the outline has become difficult to control, simplifying or redrawing part of it may be faster than adjusting many short segments.
Union is useful when you want to add a curved section to an existing bed. Draw the curved addition over the part of the bed where it belongs, select both shapes, and union them into one bed.
Draw existing and proposed beds separately
Use separate bed shapes when areas need different soil, water, drainage, surface, or existing/proposed settings. This keeps their properties and material quantities distinct.
For an early concept, one broad shape is often enough. You can divide it into more specific beds later.
Finish tracing before placing plants
After the property boundary, house, and major bed outlines are ready, open Layers and turn off Tracing mode. Shape fills and the selected illustration style return, making it easier to judge plant spacing and composition.
The bed will not finish
Click the first point again or press Enter. A closed bed needs at least three points.
The source image is hidden by the bed
Open Layers and turn on Tracing mode. This shows the source clearly and hides shape fills while you trace.
I added a point in the wrong place
While drawing, press Backspace or use Undo to remove the latest point. After the bed is closed, choose Select and reshape it.
I cannot select the bed
Make sure Select is active and no plant is still armed for placement. Click or tap multiple times in the same place to cycle through objects underneath one another. You can also zoom in or temporarily hide an overlapping layer when another object is covering the edge you need.
Next steps
Why it works
The design thinking behind this
This guide covers the how. These cover the why — the reasoning that decides what you should be drawing in the first place.