Build My Garden: A Free Custom Garden Plan in Five Questions
The question we hear most — at all five of our Chicagoland garden centers, in emails, and at the register — isn't about any one plant. It's this: "What should I actually plant in my yard?"
It's the right question. The same plant that thrives against a south-facing fence in Missouri can sulk in a shady Minnesota side yard. Growing zone, sunlight, and space matter more than anything you'll read on a plant tag — and most people are left guessing.
So we built something to answer it properly: Build My Garden.
Five questions, one garden plan
It takes about a minute. You tell us:
- Your ZIP code — so we know your USDA growing zone and your frost dates
- Your sunlight — full sun, part sun, or mostly shade
- Your space — a few pots, a garden bed, or a whole yard section
- Your goal — pollinators, fresh food and herbs, a bite-free patio, or easy color that returns every year
- Your honest effort level — from "set it and forget it" to "give me a project"
Then Jim — our third-generation grower — puts together a garden plan matched to your answers: real plants from our greenhouse, in three sizes, with everything chosen to thrive where you live. One click puts the whole plan in your cart, and our storewide Buy 2, Get 1 Free Garden Sale applies automatically at checkout.
Your plan comes with a planting calendar
Leave your email on your results page and we'll send your plan along with a month-by-month planting calendar for your zone — what to plant and when, straight from our growers. Print it, stick it on the fridge, and you'll always know what goes in the ground next.
Why we made it free
Because guessing is how gardens fail — and failed gardens make people quit gardening. We've been growing since 1957, and nothing beats the moment a first-time gardener comes back to tell us everything lived. A plan built around your zone, your light, and your space is the surest way to get there.
Prefer to browse? Our Garden Bundles are ready-made collections — complete gardens in one box, priced below buying the plants separately. And if you're planting for the monarchs, start with our guide to growing milkweed.