Beta Live: Garden Sketchbook is now in open beta. You may encounter a few bugs as we continue to refine the experience.

Plant Library

Discover hundreds of plants with detailed information, advanced filtering, and smart search capabilities. Find the perfect plants for any garden design.

Overview

Garden Sketchbook's plant library contains hundreds of carefully curated plants with detailed growing information. It's designed to help you make informed plant choices based on your specific garden conditions and design goals.

📸 Screenshot: Plant library panel showing various plant cards

Plant Information

Click the information button on any plant card to view its profile.

See care tips, plant size, bloom time, and preferred growing conditions.

📸 Screenshot: Plant information modal with detailed characteristics

Search Plants by Name

Use the search box at the top of the plant library to find plants by name:

  • Common Names: Search for "coneflower" or "black-eyed susan"
  • Scientific Names: Search for "Echinacea" or "Rudbeckia"
  • Partial Matches: Type part of a name to see all matching results

📸 Screenshot: Search results showing filtered plants

Advanced Filtering

Click the Filter button to access advanced filtering options that help you find plants perfectly suited to your garden conditions and design needs.

Hardiness Zones

  • Zone Selection: Choose your specific USDA or Canadian hardiness zone
  • System Toggle: Switch between USDA and Canadian zone systems

Bloom Times

  • Seasonal Options: Filter by early/mid/late periods across spring, summer, and fall

Plant Types

  • Life Cycles: Annual, biennial, and perennial options
  • Plant Forms: Grass, herbaceous, shrub, and tree categories

Flower Colors

  • Visual Swatches: Select from color swatches including white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, green, black, and the elusive blue
  • Multiple Colors: Choose several colors for diverse garden palettes

Growing Conditions

  • Sun Exposure: Full sun, part sun, part shade, and full shade
  • Soil Tolerance: Drought tolerant, poor soil tolerant, and wet soil tolerant options

Special Features

  • Wildlife Value: Find pollinator friendly and deer resistant plants
  • Sensory Appeal: Filter for fragrant plants

Native Regions

  • Regional Filters: Find plants that are native to your region: United States (5 regions), Canada (5 regions), and United Kingdom
  • Native Species: Option to show only true native species that occur in the wild (excluding cultivars). Leave this option unchecked for a broader search that includes hybrids and cultivars of native species.

Size Filters

  • Height and Width: Set minimum and maximum dimensions in inches or cm

📸 Screenshot: Advanced filter dialog with multiple options selected

Using Filters Effectively

Combination Filtering

Use multiple filters together to find exactly what you need. For example:

  • Shade + Summer Blooms: Find colorful plants to brighten shady spots
  • Drought Tolerant + Deer Resistant: Low-maintenance plants for problem areas
  • Native + Attracts Pollinators: Pollinator-friendly plants native to your region

Clearing Filters

To start fresh or broaden your search:

  • Click "Clear All Filters" to remove all active filters
  • Uncheck individual filter options to gradually expand results
  • Use the search box with filters for more specific results

📸 Screenshot: Plant library with active filters showing reduced results

Plant Selection and Placement

Selecting Plants

Click any plant card to select it for placement in your garden:

  • Selected plants are highlighted with a colored background.
  • With the plant selected, switch to Add Mode in the 2D plan toolbar.
  • Hover your mouse on the 2D canvas; a preview circle shows the plant's mature size when placing.
  • Click to place. Clicking multiple times will place multiple plants.

Plant Library Tips

For Beginners

  • Filter by your hardiness zone to make sure plants can handle your winter
  • Dealing with deer? Look for "Deer Resistant" plants (though we can't promise they won't nibble if they're really hungry)
  • Choose plants with different bloom times for year-long color

For Experienced Gardeners

  • Search by scientific or cultivar names to find specific plants
  • Stack multiple filters to get laser-focused — like finding purple, drought-tolerant, deer-resistant perennials for that tricky corner
  • Try searching plant families (like "Echinacea") to see all your coneflower options at once

Smart Planning Moves

  • Use bloom time filters to choreograph your garden's seasonal show
  • Balance your plant types — shrubs and trees give year-round structure, herbaceous perennials and annuals add interest that shifts with the seasons
  • Fine tune your color palette by filtering for specific flower colors
  • Use the 3D view to plan for mature plant sizes

Troubleshooting

Can't Find Your Plant?

During the beta, we're working on adding new plants to the library all the time. Eventually we will hit an upper limit of what we can reasonably store in our database; we're currently planning on 2,000-4,000 plants.

While we'll do our best to include the most popular varieties, it's possible your plant won't be found. We have a custom plant feature planned to cover this case; keep an eye on our blog for our roadmap and release notes.

No Results Found

If your search or filters return no results:

  • Check your spelling in the search box
  • Remove some filters to broaden the search
  • Clear all filters and start with a broader search

Too Many Results

If you're overwhelmed by options:

  • Add more specific filters to narrow results
  • Search for specific characteristics you need
  • Filter by bloom time for seasonal planning
  • Focus on one plant type at a time

Next Steps

Now that you understand the plant library, explore these related topics:

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