A border planted short in front and tall behindThree bands of height step up like stairs. Vary the leaf shapes more than anything else.
A climbing rose tied in to a trellisA trellis is a lattice that holds up climbing plants. Rule the diamond grid first and let stems cross it.
A cottage path between two overflowing bedsThe path narrows toward the back. Plants spill over both edges and hide its straight lines.
A cutting patch in rows, labels on sticksStraight rows running away from you, each ending in a small label. One row is taller than the rest.
A flower bed in midwinter: bare soil and seed headsDry stalks stand over dark soil with a rim of frost on every edge. This is the same bed with the color gone.
A knot garden of low clipped hedgesThe hedges are planted in lines that seem to weave over and under each other inside a square frame.
A lavender hedge in full flowerLavender flowers sit in rings on spikes held above the leaves. Draw a haze of short upright strokes.
A raised bed in two-point perspectiveA raised bed holds soil above ground level inside a frame. Draw the frame as a long box, then fill it.
An unmown corner left to wildflowersThin stems lean at every angle, topped with small dots and discs. Nothing lines up.
Nasturtiums trailing over the edge of a bedThe leaves are round like small shields, with the stalk joining in the middle of each one.
Stepping stones curving through a flower bedFlat ovals that shrink as the path curves away. Let leaves lap over the edge of each stone.
Sweet peas scrambling up a tripod of sticksSweet peas climb by tendrils that curl round a support. Draw the sticks first, then wind the stems up.
Vegetables and fruit 12
A line of carrot tops, one root lifted outThe carrot is a taproot. Lay one on the soil beside the leafy tops of the others.
A pumpkin on its vine under wide leavesThe skin is slightly ribbed. Run curved lines from the stalk to the base to make the ribs.
A row of red-stemmed chardChard has large leaf stalks. Draw each one as a bright rib running up the middle of a dark leaf.
A strawberry plant sending out a runnerA runner is a stem along the ground that roots and makes a new plant. Draw a small plant at its tip.
A tomato truss part green and part redTomato plants are vines. Hang five fruits from one stem, each at a different stage between green and red.
A zucchini plant hiding three fruitsZucchini are usually some shade of green, though a golden kind is deep yellow. Tuck them under the leaves.
An espalier apple tree against a brick wallThe branches are pruned and tied to a frame, so the tree grows flat against the wall.
Corn, beans and squash growing in one bedThe Three Sisters are maize, climbing beans and squash. Beans go up the corn and squash covers the ground.
One strawberry enlarged to show every speckEach speck on the outside is really a tiny fruit with a seed inside. Set them in rows that curve round.
Pea plants on a net, pods fatteningPeas sit in a row inside the pod. Show them as a line of bumps along each one.
Rhubarb with thick stalks and huge leavesThe fleshy stalks are the part that is cooked. The leaves are large and triangular.
Runner beans in red flower on tall polesThe vine can pass three meters. Red flowers and knife-shaped green pods hang among the leaves.
Tools and pots 12
A bucket of hand tools with a trowel on topHandles stick out at different angles. The bucket is a cylinder that narrows toward its base.
A dibber beside a line of seed holesA dibber is a pointed wood stick for making planting holes. Draw the holes as small dark ovals.
A garden fork left standing in dug soilA garden fork usually has four short, sturdy tines. Sink them halfway into the ground.
A hose left in loose loops across the grassTwo loops that cross in the middle, with one end running off toward the spigot.
A potting bench with everything outPots, labels, a heap of soil, a scoop and string on one tabletop. Arrange them by size, big at the back.
A seed tin with the packets filed by monthAn open tin with card dividers standing up. Invent the plant on the front packet and draw it small.
A tower of clay pots with one crackedEach rim is an ellipse. Stack them a little off true and run one jagged crack down the top pot.
A watering can's rose close up, every hole drawnThe rose is the cap on the spout that breaks the water into drops. Set the holes in rings.
A wheelbarrow heaped with leavesA wheelbarrow usually has just one wheel, with two handles at the back. Draw the tray as a tilted box.
Garden clogs left on the greenhouse stepTwo slip-on shoes, one on its side. Draw each as a rounded wedge with an open heel.
Gardening gloves, one palm up and one palm downEmpty gloves keep the curl of the hand. Add seams along each finger and dirt on the fingertips.
Hand pruners lying open on a benchPruning shears are a kind of scissors for plants. Draw two curved handles and two short blades.
Sheds and greenhouses 12
A cold frame with its lid held up on a stickA cold frame is a low box with a see-through lid that shelters young plants.
A compost bin with its lid offCompost mixes green waste such as grass and food scraps with brown waste such as stalks and paper.
A garden gate ajar, latch drawn in detailFive upright bars, one diagonal brace and a latch. The gap shows a strip of path beyond.
A glass cloche over one seedlingCloche is French for bell. A traditional one is a glass bell set over a plant against the cold.
A greenhouse with every pane drawnA traditional glasshouse is walled and roofed in glass panes. Rule the frame, then the plants behind it.
A pergola walk roofed with vinesPosts hold up crossbeams and vines are trained over them. Light falls on the path in stripes.
A potting shed with pots stacked in its windowA box with a pitched roof and a door ajar. The window shows stacked rims and one trailing plant.
A rain barrel under a roof pipeA rain barrel stores the water that runs off a roof. Draw the pipe coming down into its lid.
A rose arch framing the path beyondDraw the arch as a bold upside-down U, then cover most of it with leaves and blooms.
A sundial on a stone pedestalThe gnomon is the part that casts the shadow. On a flat dial it is often a triangular blade.
An empty bird bath after rain, sky in the waterA shallow basin of water on a stand. Draw two clouds in the water and leave the rim dry.
Inside a tool shed, everything on nailsHang each tool as a dark shape on the back wall. A shaft of light from the door picks out the dust.
Visitors 12
A buddleia in bloom with wings on every clusterAlso called butterfly bush. Long clusters of lilac to purple flowers, and butterflies come for the nectar.
A bumblebee on a lavender spikeA bumblebee is round and covered in soft hair, often in bands of color. The spike bends under it.
A cat asleep in a seed trayThe cat fills the tray edge to edge, seedlings and all. Keep the tray corners square against the curves.
A hedgehog under a hedge at duskA European hedgehog carries up to 6,000 brown and white spines. Draw them as short strokes all one way.
A hummingbird at a hanging basketBlur the wings into two pale fans and keep the body and the long bill sharp.
A ladybug heading up a rosebud toward the aphidsMost ladybugs eat insects such as aphids. Draw the aphids as tiny ovals packed under the bud.
A rabbit's ears showing above a row of lettucesTwo long ears and nothing else of the rabbit. One lettuce in the row has a bite out of it.
A robin watching from the rim of a wheelbarrowThe European robin has an orange-red face and breast. The American robin has a reddish-orange breast.
A snail on the rim of a flowerpotA garden snail's shell has four or five turns, crossed by broken brown bands.
A squirrel digging in a flowerpotOnly the back half and the tail show. Soil sprays out behind in short strokes.
A toad sheltering in a flowerpot on its sideA dark arch with two bright eyes low down. Half bury the pot so it sits firmly in the soil.
An insect hotel packed with hollow stemsBundled bamboo and logs with drilled holes give solitary bees somewhere to nest.
Garden plans 12
A balcony of pots, plan viewCircles of different sizes along three sides of a rectangle, with a chair in the space left over.
A dream garden laid out on squared paperLet one square stand for one step. Put in the thing you want most first and fit the rest round it.
A four-bed kitchen garden seen from aboveFour squares with a cross of paths between them. Fill each square with a different pattern for its crop.
A garden map with a snail's route as a dotted lineDraw the beds as plain shapes, then send the dotted trail wandering from the lettuces to the pots.
A garden plan with a key of symbolsInvent a mark for each kind of plant: rings for shrubs, dashes for rows. List the marks in a box.
A pond outline with reeds marked along one sideA kidney-shaped line with a second line inside it for the shallow shelf. Mark the reeds as short dashes.
A slice through a bed: roots below, plants aboveRule one line across the page for the soil surface. Carrots and worms go below it, leaves and bees above.
A sowing calendar drawn as a twelve-part wheelOne wedge for each month. Draw a small picture of what goes in the ground in each wedge.
A window box mapped from above in circlesA long rectangle from above with five or six circles in it. Write a plant name in each circle.
An herb spiral from above and from the sideAn herb spiral is a raised bed that winds upward, so it is a snail-shell plan and a small hill.
One bed through the year in four panelsKeep the fence and the path the same in all four. Only the plants and the light change.
One corner drawn twice: bare soil, then full grownTwo frames side by side with one fence post in both, so the eye can match them up.
How it works
These garden drawing ideas take in the whole plot: beds and borders, vegetables, tools, sheds, the animals that visit and plans seen from above. Plant and animal details were checked against a source.
Read the full guide
From one pot to the whole plot
Start with one object at arm's length: a pot, a glove, a fork left standing in the soil. Then step back for a shed or a border, where the job is three bands of height. A bed in midwinter and one bed through the year in four panels cover the months when little is in flower.
A plan is a drawing too
If you came for a drawn plan of a garden, choose Garden plans from the list. It runs from four square beds with a cross of paths to an herb spiral shown from above and from the side.
A mass of leaves is light and dark patches. Draw ten leaves at the edge and only suggest the rest.
Put one straight thing in every plant drawing: a cane, a fence post or a handle.
Questions and answers
What is an easy garden drawing to start with?
A garden fork left standing in dug soil is a handle and four tines. A snail on the rim of a flowerpot is a spiral on a curve. Easy, under More filters, has more.
How do you draw a garden from above?
Draw the boundary first, then the paths, then the beds as plain shapes. Give each kind of plant its own mark and explain the marks in a key. A four-bed kitchen garden seen from above is the simplest start.
What can I draw in a vegetable garden?
A tomato truss, carrot tops with one root lifted out, runner beans on poles, a pumpkin under its leaves. Vegetables and fruit also has corn, beans and squash growing in one bed, known as the Three Sisters.