Perennial Garden Guides
Help & Tutorials
Find your starting point, learn each garden app and turn a plan into something you can grow.
Getting Started With My Garden
Start with your garden profile, then explore 12 connected tools. Save your work as you go and return to My Garden for an overview.
Open My Garden →14 step-by-step guides
Getting Started With My Garden
- Open the green Open My Garden button beside the Garden Apps introduction on the homepage.
- Enter a garden name, growing zone and location, then choose Save Garden Profile.
- Start with My Growing Zone, map your space, then use the other tools as your plan develops.
- Save inside each tool. Return to My Garden to review the records that tool shares with the dashboard.
- Keep using the same browser and device. Export backups where available; this is browser storage, not an online account.
My Growing Zone
- Enter your U.S. ZIP code and run the zone lookup.
- Read the USDA hardiness-zone result and its temperature range. Hardiness describes winter survival, not a complete planting calendar.
- Save your zone, then open My Garden to review the profile. Cross-check frost dates and local conditions before planting.
Map Garden Space / Garden Planner
- Set the dimensions and units for the area you want to plan.
- Add beds, paths and structures, then place crops or search the plant library.
- Review mature spread, spacing, light and water context. Adjust the layout to your real site.
- Give your layout a name and save it. Reopen the saved plan before changing it, and export a backup when offered.
Garden Calculator
- Choose the calculation that fits your job, such as soil volume, mulch or plant spacing.
- Check the units before entering dimensions. Measure the actual bed rather than estimating from a photograph.
- Calculate and review the result. Allow for material settling and the supplier’s package sizes before purchasing.
Plant Companions
- Choose the crop you want to grow and review compatible pairings and cautions.
- Use spacing, light, water and rotation needs as the first checks. Companion suggestions are planning guidance, not guaranteed pest control.
- Save useful pairings and review them from My Garden when planning a bed.
Seasonal Calendar
- Choose your growing context and browse the month or season.
- Read planting, maintenance and harvesting suggestions alongside local frost and weather information.
- Use the calendar to plan tasks, then record the work you actually complete in Garden Journal.
Plant, Pest & Disease Identifier
- Use Upload for an existing photo or Take photo for your device's camera option. Add whole-plant, close-up, leaf-underside and context views as useful. JPG, PNG and WebP up to 15 MB are supported; convert HEIC to JPEG first.
- Choose the symptoms and conditions you can confirm, then Analyze Evidence for guided screening.
- For a known apple, cherry, corn, grape, peach, bell pepper, potato, strawberry or tomato, you can also select a leaf view and choose Compare leaf photo. The experimental model downloads once requested and runs on this device.
- Read the model's measured limits. Its suggestions can be wrong and are not laboratory diagnoses or general species identification.
- Choose Save comparison to My Garden, or use Analyze Evidence followed by Save to My Garden. The saved report contains observations and model suggestions, not photo files.
- Print Report creates a printable health report. Saved reports also appear in My Garden and import into Garden Journal.
Harvest Checker
- Choose a crop and provide the variety or maturity context where available.
- Compare the crop’s visible readiness signs with the guidance. Harvest timing varies with variety, weather and intended use.
- Save your check, then record the actual yield in Harvest & Garden Records.
Garden Library
- Use Search the Library to find plant records, terms and reference resources. The silver microphone offers voice search in supported browsers; click again to stop.
- Open Plant Records to inspect growing conditions and save useful plants to your library.
- Choose 100 Gardening Books to browse the editorial collection. Search by title, author or category.
- The first 25 books appear initially. Choose See More to reveal another 25, up to 100.
- Open a book guide for its summary, editorial rationale, practical uses, cover credit and Amazon listing. Save private reading notes and export a backup.
Seed Starting & Tray Tracker
- Add the seeds you have, then create a tray or sowing record.
- Record sowing dates, cells planted and expected germination or transplant timing.
- Update germination and task progress as seedlings develop. Save changes and review tray totals in My Garden.
Garden Journal & Logs
- Create an entry for watering, feeding, soil work, observations or treatment.
- Record the date, location or plant, what happened and any follow-up needed.
- Save the entry. Review recent activity in My Garden and use the journal to compare results over time.
Harvest & Garden Records
- Add a harvest record with crop, date and quantity. Use consistent units so comparisons make sense.
- Add quality, storage and seasonal notes where useful.
- Save the record and review totals. Keep Harvest Checker observations separate from measured harvest yields.
Inventory, Shopping & Budget
- Add seeds, plants, tools or supplies you already own.
- Record quantities and low-stock needs, then build a shopping list before buying.
- Enter purchases and costs to track actual spending. Save changes and review inventory and budget totals in My Garden.
Back up, restore or move your garden to another device
- Save your work in each tool first. Unsaved work and photo files are not included in a backup.
- Open Backup & Restore My Garden near the bottom of any tool. In Garden Planner, use Backup & Restore on the canvas.
- Choose Download garden backup. Keep the JSON file somewhere private; it can include your garden location and personal notes.
- On the same device or another device, open Perennial Home & Gardens, open Backup & Restore, then choose the file.
- Review the listed sections. Add missing sections keeps sections already saved on that device. Replace included sections replaces only the sections listed in the file.
- Check the confirmation box and choose Restore reviewed backup. Keep the automatic before-restore safety download, then choose Reload tools.
- This transfers data by file. It does not create an account or turn on automatic cloud synchronization.
Keep your garden records safe
Browser storage does not need a membership and does not upload your garden records to our server. It is specific to this browser and device. Clearing browsing data, using private mode or changing devices can make records unavailable. Use each tool’s Save and Export controls where provided.