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How to brief an AI garden design model

A useful AI garden proposal starts with a clear brief, not specialist language. Describe the space as it is, say what must stay, explain how you want to use it and show the model several honest photographs.

9 min read · MyGardenova

What the garden AI needs from you

MyGardenova's purpose-built AI model is trained to interpret outdoor spaces, garden layouts, planting, materials and everyday homeowner briefs. It works best when you give it facts first and style words second. You do not need to write like a designer.

  • The space: approximate width and length, location, sun, shade, slope, drainage and access.
  • What exists: house, doors, windows, boundaries, trees, sheds, paving and changes in level.
  • What must stay: name every item the design should preserve.
  • How you live: dining, children, pets, growing food, entertaining, quiet seating or low maintenance.
  • Your priorities: say which two or three outcomes matter most when choices compete.
  • Your limits: budget range, materials to avoid, maintenance level and anything that cannot move.

Take photographs the model can understand

Start with one wide photograph from the house looking outward. Add the reverse view from the far boundary, then photograph each side and any difficult corner. Take pictures in daylight, hold the camera level and avoid portrait mode, heavy filters or panoramic distortion. Include the ground and boundary in every useful view.

  • Upload 4–8 clear, overlapping views where possible.
  • Include one photo taken from the door or window used most often.
  • Add a sketch or plan with rough measurements, even if it is drawn by hand.
  • Photograph drains, utility covers, steps, slopes and narrow access routes.
  • Add inspiration images separately and explain what you like in each one.
A clear wide photograph of a backyard before an AI garden redesign

Before — the photo you send

The same camera view with a modern Scandinavian AI garden proposal

After — AI proposal

A level, wide source photograph helps the model preserve the house, boundaries and camera position while changing the garden.

Use this six-part prompt structure

  1. Goal: what should this garden become?
  2. Use: who will use it, and for what?
  3. Keep: what must remain unchanged?
  4. Change: what should be removed, screened or improved?
  5. Style and materials: describe the feeling and name practical materials.
  6. Constraints: budget, climate, sunlight, upkeep, access and safety.

Copy-ready template

I want this garden to become [main goal]. It will be used by [people/pets] for [activities]. Keep [existing items] and do not change [house, boundaries, levels or access]. Remove or improve [problem areas]. I like [style], using [materials and colours]. Include [must-have features]. The space gets [sun/shade], my location is [place/climate], and I want [low/medium/high] maintenance. My rough budget is [range]. My top priorities are [priority 1], [priority 2] and [priority 3].

A strong prompt example

Redesign our 8 × 12 metre back garden for two adults and two children. Keep the mature birch, rear fence and existing door positions. Replace the patchy lawn and cracked paving. We need a dining terrace for six near the kitchen, an open play area and screening from the neighbour on the right. Use a calm Scandinavian style with pale timber, large concrete pavers, gravel and repeated grasses. Avoid glossy tiles, tropical planting and high-maintenance hedges. The garden faces west, is windy and has afternoon sun. Use hardy plants suitable for Reykjavik. Keep the proposal realistic for a $15,000–$25,000 phased build. The dining area and privacy are more important than keeping a large lawn.

Why vague prompts produce vague gardens

“Make my garden beautiful and modern” leaves every important decision open. Modern could mean polished concrete and clipped hedges, or pale timber and loose grasses. The model may also remove something important because it was never told to keep it. Replace general words with visible choices and practical uses.

  • Instead of “cosy,” say “a sheltered four-person seating area with warm, low lighting.”
  • Instead of “low maintenance,” say “no lawn, repeated hardy plants and one annual cut-back.”
  • Instead of “more privacy,” name the boundary, approximate height and whether light must still pass through.
  • Instead of “natural materials,” name gravel, concrete pavers, timber cladding or local stone.

How to ask for a revision

Comment on the latest proposal rather than rewriting the entire brief. State what should remain unchanged, identify the exact area to alter and request one coherent group of changes at a time.

Keep the layout, pale timber deck, birch tree and all boundary positions from this proposal. Make the dining area large enough for a six-seat rectangular table, replace the fire bowl with a raised planter, and add a slatted timber screen along the right boundary. Keep the planting and materials consistent in both views.

Before you submit

  • Can the model see the whole garden across your photos?
  • Have you named everything that must stay?
  • Have you separated essential features from optional ideas?
  • Did you include location, sunlight, maintenance and a realistic budget?
  • Are your measurements clearly labelled in metres, centimetres, feet or inches?
  • Did you explain what you like about each inspiration image?

What to expect from the result

Every proposal includes two coordinated views so you can understand how the main areas connect. The model also suggests plants, plainly named materials, rough costs, build phases and next steps. These are visual planning ideas, not measured construction drawings, engineering advice, permit documents or an exact planting schedule.

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