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Checklists · Planting

Planting & Garden Maintenance Checklists

A planting scheme is a maintenance commitment that starts the day it is finished. These checklists help you describe your conditions accurately, set honest upkeep expectations, and agree who is responsible for what before anything is planted.

Nothing here recommends a species, advises on any treatment, or instructs on pruning or tree work. Those belong with a qualified garden designer, nursery or arborist, and protected trees are confirmed with the local authority.

20 checklists in this category

What this area covers

Planning topics in this category

Each checklist prepares one specific conversation or decision point. None of them determines compliance, suitability or cost.

Light, shelter, wet spots and existing planting
Honest upkeep expectations
Who maintains what, agreed in advance
Questions for designers, nurseries and arborists

Checklists in this category

Browse the checklists

Every checklist is educational owner-side preparation: decisions to weigh, documents to gather and questions to bring to qualified professionals.

Project stage

Planting Brief Preparation →Preparation prompts for owners writing down what they want from planting, how much upkeep is realistic, and what a garden designer or nursery needs to be told first.

Planting Condition Record →How to build a written record of the light, water, wind and ground conditions in each part of a garden, so a planting conversation starts from observation rather than memory.

Plant Retention Decisions →Owner-side decisions about what existing planting to keep, move or let go before work starts, and which tree questions belong with an arborist and the local authority.

Hedge Planning Questions →A hedge is a long-term commitment to a strip of ground and to cutting it; these prompts set out what to record, agree and confirm locally first.

Tree Planting Conversation →Preparation prompts for owners considering a new tree, covering what sits above and below the position, the shade to come, and what belongs with a qualified arborist.

Tree Care Conversation →Preparation prompts for owners with established trees: what to record, what to confirm locally, and which questions belong with a qualified arborist.

Lawn Establishment Questions →Before a new grass area is agreed, work out what it must withstand, what lies under it, who waters it while it takes and who cuts it afterwards.

Naturalistic Planting Questions →How to weigh a meadow or loose naturalistic area before committing to one: tolerance for untidiness, how it gets cut, who cuts it, and what to confirm locally.

Border Planning Preparation →What to settle before a border is drawn: where it runs, how far into it anyone can reach, what stands behind it, and who realistically tends it afterwards.

Seasonal Interest Planning →Working out when the garden actually has to perform: naming the stretch with least to show, the windows it is seen through, and the tending each effect brings.

Low-Upkeep Planting Questions →Preparation prompts for owners who want planting that asks less of them, covering the tending happening now, what creates work here, and what to ask before anything is chosen.

Irrigation Conversation →Owner-side preparation for a watering conversation: how it is done now, which ground dries out first, where pipework would run and who keeps the arrangement working.

Mulching and Soil Care →Questions for owners before mulch or ground work is agreed: what the material is meant to achieve, where it comes from, how it reaches the beds and who tops it up.

Pruning Responsibility Planning →Preparation for deciding who cuts back what in a garden, what is plainly out of reach, what to confirm with the local authority and how the arrangement is written down.

Planting Aftercare Questions →What to gather and settle once new planting has gone in: the aftercare notes, who waters during absences, what every stake and guard is for, and how losses are raised.

Pollinator Planting Questions →Questions for owners who want planting that supports insect life, covering what already visits, the empty stretches of the year, habitat that gets tidied away and honest upkeep.

Shade Planting Questions →A questions checklist for owners planting shaded ground, separating building shade from canopy shade and recording dryness, damp and root competition before anything is chosen.

Exposed Site Planting →For owners planting somewhere windy, salty or open, covering the damage already on record, where spray and grit reach, sheltered pockets and what establishment really demands.

Raised Bed Planting Questions →Before beds are raised or containers filled: what lies underneath, growing depth, weight once wet, where drainage water ends up and who keeps the whole lot watered.

Planting Handover Record →What to capture on the day planting is finished: what actually went in and where, the watering instructions, temporary supports and who is responsible for each part afterwards.

Go deeper

Related Build Design Hub guides

Explanatory guidance behind the decisions these checklists prepare you for.

Garden planning →Explanatory guides on garden planning and planting.Privacy & boundaries →Background on hedges, screening and boundary planting.Outdoor rooms →How planting and outdoor living relate.All checklist categories →Back to the full Project Planning Checklists library.