The perils of AI garden design

Just don’t! This is my advice to anyone who is considering using Artificial Intelligence to design their garden. Recently I’ve noticed apps being advertised in my social media feed boasting about their amazing software allowing you to simply take a photo of your existing garden before giving you a selection of beautiful garden styles to tap on and superimpose on to your selected photo. Magically, all you need to do is choose which garden fantasy appeals to you most!

Please do not fall for this version of garden design fast food. It is an insult to suggest that AI can take the place of a professional horticulturist who can advise on site variables including sun and shade patterns, soil types, watering requirements and maintenance that needs to be taken into careful consideration.

If you’re still not convinced, think of everything you can gain by not using AI. Plan a day visiting plant nurseries; look at gardens that are doing well in your neighbourhood; talk to fellow garden lovers and immerse yourself in quality plant reference books and the internet to find information on the environmental tolerances of plants you like. This is a great way to learn about what you like and enjoy being outdoors enjoying beautiful surroundings too. It also prevents you from closing your mind and tapping on a button that has a ‘Tropical Garden’ button to superimpose a generic picture of a tropical garden over a photo of your yard. I personally cannot think of anything more soulless!

Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you not to go down the AI garden design route, when researching plants for your garden, make sure that any reference your using is suited to Australian conditions. If you don’t you may find that your planting choices don’t succeed due to significantly different climatic conditions. Australian gardens can at times be very unforgiving with our harsh sun and lack of rich topsoils that many European gardens naturally contain and therefore require a different approach to garden design.

Designing and installing a garden is meant to be a magical human experience! Don’t kill it by asking a computer app what you should do. The app doesn’t know you or what you need. The best ideas come from old fashioned technique of talking to people. Speak to experts such as nursery staff; your mate who has a beautiful garden; professional gardeners like me and garden designers. Also see what appeals to you and makes by visiting public and private gardens that are open to the public. I guarantee the information you get will be horticultural gold! You’ll also find yourself getting super excited about creating your own garden masterpiece.

Enjoy the process of designing your garden with an open mind and heart and not a boring uninspired app. You want your garden to reflect who you are and your lifestyle and this can only be achieved by taking the time to work out how you intend to use your garden space and what appeals to you visually which no one else can answer. And lastly, please be realistic about how much maintenance your garden will require. There is nothing more soul destroying than seeing a garden oasis transform into an overgrown weedscape!