Garden Zone Planner
Rather than a visual garden designer, this tool helps you plan how to divide your garden by area — splitting your total space between lawn, patio or seating, planting beds, and storage so each zone gets a sensible share. Enter your garden size and adjust the percentage split below to see the resulting square metreage for each zone, then check out a few well-reviewed sheds sized for a typical storage allocation.
Plan your garden zones
Enter your total garden area, then set what percentage goes to each zone. This tool allocates space — it doesn't lay out a visual design of where each zone sits.
Open grass for relaxing and play
Hard standing for furniture and dining
Borders, veg patches, shrubs and flowers
Shed, bins, and tool storage
Based on a 100m² garden, here's how that space breaks down:
- Lawn50% — 50.0m²
- Patio / Seating20% — 20.0m²
- Planting / Beds25% — 25.0m²
- Storage / Shed5% — 5.0m²
Recommended for your garden
A few well-reviewed sheds to fit your storage zone.
Currently unavailable
Pros
- Traditional overlap timber cladding
- Budget-friendly for the size
- Includes windows for natural light
Cons
- Requires annual timber treatment
- Wood
- Small gardens
- 8x6ft
£449.99
Pros
- 8mm overlap cladding handcrafted from sustainable timber
- Felt and fixings included
- Windows for natural light
Cons
- Requires annual timber treatment
- Base not included
- Resin
- Small gardens
- 145x82x125cm
Currently unavailable
Pros
- Weatherproof resin construction, no rot or rust
- Lockable doors and piston-assisted lid
- Compact footprint good for patios and small gardens
Cons
- Smaller capacity than a full-size shed
Frequently asked questions
How much of my garden should be lawn?
A common UK starting point is around 40-50% lawn, leaving the rest for patio, planting, and storage. Smaller gardens or households that entertain often lean lower on lawn and higher on patio, while wildlife-focused gardens often shift the balance towards planting beds instead.
Do I need planning permission for garden zones?
Dividing your existing garden into lawn, patio, and planting areas doesn’t need planning permission on its own. However, hard landscaping like a large patio, decking, or a shed can bring in other rules — for example impermeable paving over a certain area near the house may need drainage consideration, and outbuildings are subject to permitted development limits.
How much space should I allow for a shed or storage zone?
Most small-to-medium gardens allocate 5-10% of total area to storage, which is typically enough for a standard shed plus a little access space around it. If you need a full workshop or a lot of equipment, you may want closer to 15%.
What if my zones don’t add up to 100%?
The planner shows a running total as you adjust each slider and flags when it isn’t exactly 100%, so you can fine-tune the split before reading off the m² figures. This avoids the tool silently showing an area breakdown that doesn’t actually match your garden.
How this calculator works
The planner starts with your total garden area in square metres and divides it into four zones: lawn, patio or seating, planting beds, and storage or shed space. You set the percentage split using sliders, and the tool converts each percentage into an exact m² figure. The default split — 50% lawn, 20% patio, 25% planting, 5% storage — is a sensible starting point for a typical family garden, but you can adjust every zone up or down to match how you actually use the space.
The tool validates that your percentages add up to exactly 100% before showing the final breakdown. This matters because an unbalanced split — say 60% lawn and only 30% planting — will give you a misleading m² figure for the remaining zones. Once the total hits 100%, each zone’s area is calculated as (total area × percentage) ÷ 100, giving you a clean number you can take to a garden designer or use when ordering materials.
Typical UK garden zone splits
| Garden type | Lawn | Patio / Seating | Planting / Beds | Storage / Shed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small urban garden (under 50m²) | 30% | 35% | 25% | 10% |
| Family garden (50–100m²) | 50% | 20% | 20% | 10% |
| Large family garden (100–200m²) | 45% | 25% | 25% | 5% |
| Wildlife / low-maintenance | 20% | 15% | 55% | 10% |
| Entertaining-focused | 25% | 40% | 25% | 10% |
Worked example: A 120m² family garden
Suppose you have a 120m² garden and want a balanced family setup. Using the default split of 50% lawn, 20% patio, 25% planting and 5% storage, the breakdown is: lawn = 60m², patio = 24m², planting = 30m², storage = 6m². That 6m² storage zone is enough for a standard 8×6 ft shed (4.3m² footprint) plus a little access space around it.
If you entertain often and want more hard standing, you might shift to 40% lawn, 30% patio, 20% planting and 10% storage. On 120m² that gives 48m² lawn, 36m² patio, 24m² planting and 12m² storage — enough room for a larger shed or a small workshop. The key is that every zone still has a sensible minimum: under about 5m², a storage zone becomes impractical, and under about 10m², a patio feels cramped for a table and chairs.
Common mistakes when planning garden zones
- Treating the default 50/20/25/5 split as a rule rather than a starting point. A household that rarely uses the lawn should shift that percentage to patio or planting without guilt.
- Forgetting access space around the shed. A 6m² storage zone sounds fine for an 8×6 ft shed, but you also need room to open the door, wheel a mower in, and reach the back of the shed without climbing over flower beds.
- Allocating too much lawn on a shady or north-facing plot. Grass needs at least 4–6 hours of direct sun a day to stay healthy; on a shaded plot, that extra lawn area will become a mossy, waterlogged patch that needs constant maintenance.
- Not accounting for existing features. A mature tree, a sloping boundary, or a utility access point can make part of the garden unusable for certain zones, so measure the actual usable area rather than the total plot size.
- Skipping the 100% validation. If your sliders add up to 95% or 105%, the m² figures are mathematically wrong for your garden — always check the running total before using the breakdown.
What to look for when choosing garden buildings and materials
Once you have your zone breakdown, the storage zone size directly determines what kind of shed or garden room you can fit. A 5m² zone suits a compact 6×4 ft or 7×5 ft shed; a 10m² zone allows an 8×6 ft or 10×6 ft model; and 15m² or more opens up large workshops or a separate garden room. Check the external footprint of the building against your allocated zone, remembering that the base usually extends 10–15 cm beyond the shed frame on each side.
For patio and seating zones, the key decision is surface material. Pressure-treated timber decking is quick to install and feels warm underfoot, but needs annual treatment in the UK climate. Paving slabs or porcelain tiles are lower-maintenance and handle shade better, but require a concrete or screed base. If your patio zone is small — under 15m² — consider a compact 600×600 mm slab format to avoid the area feeling cramped with larger 900×600 mm units.
Planting zones benefit from thinking about sun orientation and soil type before you buy plants or raised beds. A south-facing border gets full sun and suits Mediterranean herbs, lavender and Mediterranean-style perennials. A north-facing or shaded border is better for ferns, hostas and shade-tolerant shrubs. Raised beds also let you control the soil quality, which is useful on heavy clay or sandy soils common in many parts of the UK.
More questions answered
How much of my garden should be lawn?
A common UK starting point is around 40-50% lawn, leaving the rest for patio, planting, and storage. Smaller gardens or households that entertain often lean lower on lawn and higher on patio, while wildlife-focused gardens often shift the balance towards planting beds instead.
Do I need planning permission for garden zones?
Dividing your existing garden into lawn, patio, and planting areas doesn’t need planning permission on its own. However, hard landscaping like a large patio, decking, or a shed can bring in other rules — for example impermeable paving over a certain area near the house may need drainage consideration, and outbuildings are subject to permitted development limits.
How much space should I allow for a shed or storage zone?
Most small-to-medium gardens allocate 5-10% of total area to storage, which is typically enough for a standard shed plus a little access space around it. If you need a full workshop or a lot of equipment, you may want closer to 15%.
What if my zones don’t add up to 100%?
The planner shows a running total as you adjust each slider and flags when it isn’t exactly 100%, so you can fine-tune the split before reading off the m² figures. This avoids the tool silently showing an area breakdown that doesn’t actually match your garden.
Can I include paths and walkways in the zone split?
Paths are usually part of the patio or hard-standing zone, since they serve the same function of connecting areas without taking up planting or lawn space. If you have a dedicated gravel or stepping-stone path through a border, you can treat it as part of the planting zone and subtract its area from the bed area.
Should I include the house footprint in my total garden area?
No — use the total garden area only, excluding the house, garage and any permanent outbuildings. The zone planner is about dividing the outdoor space you have available, not the total plot area including buildings.
What is a good zone split for a low-maintenance garden?
Low-maintenance gardens typically reduce lawn to 20% or less, increase hard-standing or gravel areas to minimise mowing and weeding, and use planting beds with structural evergreen shrubs rather than high-maintenance annuals. A split of 20% lawn, 30% patio or paths, 40% planting and 10% storage works well for many UK households.
How do I account for slopes or awkward-shaped gardens?
The zone planner works on total area, not shape, so it won’t tell you where each zone sits. For a sloped or L-shaped garden, use the m² breakdown as a target and sketch a rough layout to check that each zone fits practically. A terraced or stepped design may reduce usable area in some zones, especially on steep plots.