What is FlorAI and how does AI Garden Design work?

FlorAI is an AI garden design app that turns a photo of your garden into a beautiful new outdoor space in seconds. You snap or upload a picture of your backyard, front yard, patio, or balcony, choose a style you love, and FlorAI generates a photorealistic redesign you can view, save, and share.

Is FlorAI really easy to use if I am not good with technology?

Yes. The whole app is built around three calm taps: open the app, pick a photo, and tap Generate. There are no settings to configure, no layers, no design jargon. If you can take a photo of your garden, you can use FlorAI.

Can FlorAI redesign my backyard from a single photo?

Yes. FlorAI can redesign a full backyard from one photo. It keeps the shape and size of your space and gently reimagines the lawn, planting beds, paths, seating, and outdoor features in the style you choose.

Does FlorAI work for front yard curb appeal and small front gardens?

Yes. Front yards are one of the most popular uses. FlorAI gives you fresh ideas for walkways, foundation planting, entry steps, lawn alternatives, and flowering borders that lift the whole look of your home.

Can I use the AI Garden Planner for patios, decks, and balconies?

Yes. FlorAI is designed for every outdoor space: patios, terraces, decks, courtyards, and balconies. You can try stone, timber, gravel, or planted options and compare them side by side before you buy anything.

Will FlorAI recommend plants that suit my area and season?

Yes. FlorAI offers smart planting recommendations based on your location and the time of year, so your new garden looks right for where you live and when you plant.

Can FlorAI identify plants and flowers from a photo?

Yes. The built-in Plant Identifier and Plant Scan can recognize the plants and flowers in your garden. Point your camera and FlorAI tells you what you are looking at so you can choose matching or complementary plants.

Can FlorAI tell me why my plant looks sick?

Yes. The Plant Health Doctor checks a photo of a struggling plant and gives gentle, easy to follow care advice on common problems like over-watering, dry soil, pests, or poor light.

How much does FlorAI AI Garden Design cost?

FlorAI is free to download on the App Store and Google Play. You can also open the web app at app.easygarden.ai. Optional paid plans unlock more redesigns, higher quality renders, and extra styles.

Is FlorAI better than hiring a landscape designer?

FlorAI is not a replacement for a landscape designer on complex builds. It is the fastest, most affordable way to explore ideas, compare styles, and feel confident about what you want before you ever meet a pro or buy plants.

What file size is FlorAI and which devices does it support?

FlorAI is about 70MB to download. Version 2.1.5 supports iPhone and iPad on iOS 15 or later, and Android phones on Android 8 or later.

Can I share my AI garden design with my partner, friend, or landscaper?

Yes. Every design you generate can be saved and shared as an image. It is the easiest way to agree on the look of a garden before anything is planted or paid for.

How much does AI garden design cost compared with a designer?

FlorAI is free to try, with optional paid plans of a few pounds a month. A landscape designer typically charges £1,500 – £5,000 for a design package, so AI garden design costs far less than a single hour of a designer’s time.

Which is fastest: AI, a designer or DIY?

AI garden design is fastest by far — a first redesign in under a minute. A landscape designer usually takes four to eight weeks, and DIY planning takes several evenings of measuring and sketching.

Comparison · 3 ways to redesign

AI Garden Design vs. Landscape Designer vs. DIY: Cost, Time and Results Compared (2026)

There are three honest ways to redesign your garden in 2026: use an AI garden design app, hire a landscape designer, or do it all yourself. Each one costs a different amount, takes a different length of time, and gives a slightly different result. This calm, plain-English guide compares all three side by side — so you can pick the one that fits your garden, your budget and your weekends.

AI Garden Design ComparisonsPublished June 5, 2026Updated June 5, 20268 min read

A redesigned suburban backyard at golden hour, the goal whether you choose AI garden design, a landscape designer or DIY

The three ways to redesign a garden in 2026

Most people who want a new garden are choosing between three routes. They sound similar, but they are not. Here is the short answer first, then the detail.

AI garden design. You take a photo of your garden and an app shows you a finished, photo-realistic redesign in seconds. Cheapest and fastest. Often free to try.
Landscape designer. A qualified person visits, measures, and draws a plan over several weeks. The most expensive, and the best for large or technical gardens.
DIY. You plan and plant the whole thing yourself, by hand or on paper. Cheap in money, but it asks for the most time and confidence.

In one sentence: an AI garden design app turns a photo of your real backyard, front yard or patio into a professional-looking landscape design in minutes — so it is the easiest place for almost everyone to start. The other two routes are about what you do next.

What each option actually means

AI garden design

An AI garden design app is friendly software that acts like an AI landscape designer. You photograph your garden, choose a style you like — cottage, modern, Mediterranean, Japanese — and it draws a believable new version of your real space. Your fence, your shed and your favourite tree stay put. Only the design changes. If you would like a slow walk-through, our AI garden design guide takes you through it step by step, and what is AI garden design? explains the idea in plain words.

Landscape designer

A landscape designer is a real, trained professional who comes to your garden, takes measurements, listens to what you want, and prepares drawings and a planting plan. They are wonderful for complicated gardens — and they tend to cost a few thousand pounds. For background on what the profession covers, the overview on Wikipedia is a neutral starting point.

DIY (do it yourself)

DIY means you do the planning and the planting on your own — sketching on paper, measuring the beds, choosing plants and digging the soil. It costs the least money and teaches you the most, but it asks for time, a bit of nerve, and a clear picture in your head of how it will look. Free, plain-English guidance from the RHS garden design library is a kind place to learn the basics.

Three ways to plan a garden side by side: a phone showing an AI garden design, a designer sketching by hand, and a gardener planting themselves — A phone, a professional, or your own two hands — three honest routes to the same garden.

Cost: what you actually pay

Money is usually the first question. Here is how the three routes compare for a typical home garden in 2026.

AI garden design: free to start, with optional plans from a few pounds a month. You only pay for the design, not the build.
Landscape designer: usually £1,500 – £5,000 / $2,000 – $8,000 for a design package, before any planting or building.
DIY: the design itself is free; you pay only for plants and materials, often £300 – £3,000 / $400 – $4,000 spread over a season.

If you want the full picture of build costs by garden size and style, our 2026 garden redesign cost guide breaks down every number in plain English.

Time: how long each one takes

Time is the quiet cost that people forget. The three routes are worlds apart here.

AI garden design: your first redesign arrives in under a minute. You can try ten styles before lunch and sleep on the one you like.
Landscape designer: usually four to eight weeks from the first call to the final drawings, with visits and revisions in between.
DIY: the planning alone can take several evenings of measuring and sketching before you feel sure enough to buy a single plant.

Results: what the finished garden looks like

All three can give you a garden you love. They differ in how the plan looks before you build it.

AI garden design: a photo-realistic picture of your own garden, redesigned. Easy to show family before you spend a penny.
Landscape designer: technical drawings and a detailed planting plan, sometimes with a 3D render. The most accurate for tricky sites.
DIY: whatever you can picture and sketch yourself. The result depends most on your own experience and eye.

For inspiration on what good real-world planting looks like at every budget, BBC Gardeners’ World publishes free, ad-light seasonal guides written for everyday gardeners.

A smartphone showing an AI garden design next to a folder of landscape designer drawings and a tray of plants ready for DIY planting — A photo in your phone, a folder of drawings, or a tray of plants — each gets you a finished garden.

AI vs designer vs DIY, at a glance

Here is the whole comparison in one place, for a typical home garden in 2026.

Cost. AI garden design: free to a few pounds a month. Designer: £1,500 – £5,000. DIY: plants and materials only.
Time to first design. AI garden design: under a minute. Designer: four to eight weeks. DIY: several evenings.
Ideas you can try. AI garden design: as many as you like. Designer: one or two concepts. DIY: as many as you can draw.
How the plan looks. AI garden design: photo-realistic. Designer: technical drawings. DIY: your own sketches.
Plant list. AI garden design: suggested in plain English. Designer: detailed, with quantities. DIY: your own research.
Build supervision. AI garden design: not designed for it. Designer: can manage contractors. DIY: you are the manager.
Best for. AI garden design: most home gardens. Designer: large or technical projects. DIY: confident, hands-on gardeners.

Which one is right for you?

A simple rule after years of helping gardeners: start with AI garden design, then add a designer or your own labour only where it earns its keep.

Choose AI garden design if…

You are refreshing a backyard, front yard, patio or balcony.
You want to see the finished look before you spend anything.
You would like to try several styles and show your partner.
Your whole-garden budget is under about £10,000.

Hire a landscape designer if…

You are building serious hard landscaping — steps, retaining walls, large patios.
Your project needs planning permission or drainage drawings.
You want one professional to manage the contractors and build it too.
Your garden is large enough that small mistakes get very expensive. Our AI planner vs. landscape designer guide covers this in more depth.

Do it yourself if…

You enjoy the planting as much as the result.
You have time across a season and a clear idea of the look you want.
Your budget is tight and you are happy to learn as you go.
You want a starting picture to copy — an AI garden design makes a great DIY blueprint.

The approach most people actually use (a smart mix)

The kindest, most cost-effective path for many gardens combines all three. It looks like this:

Design it with AI first. Try a few styles on a photo of your real garden and save the one you keep coming back to.
DIY the soft work. Do the planting, mulching and simple edging yourself — this is the cheap, satisfying part.
Hire a pro for the hard parts only. Bring in a landscaper or designer just for patios, walls or drainage, where their skill really pays off.

This hybrid route usually lands 40 – 60% below a full designer-led build, while still looking like a magazine garden. The full sums are in our garden redesign cost guide, and you can see real makeovers in our before-and-after gallery.

A gardener planting a sunny border by hand with a phone nearby showing the AI garden design plan they are following — Design with AI, plant it yourself, and call a pro only for the heavy work — the mix most gardeners choose.

Frequently asked questions

Is AI garden design better than a landscape designer?

For most home gardens — backyards, front yards, patios and balconies — an AI garden design gives a comparable finished look for a tiny fraction of the cost and time, especially when you are happy to plant it yourself. For large or technical gardens, a landscape designer still has the edge.

Is it cheaper to use AI or to DIY a garden?

They are cheap in different ways. AI garden design is the cheapest way to get a clear plan (often free). DIY is the cheapest way to build, because you save on labour. Most people use AI to make the plan, then DIY the planting.

Can I use an AI garden design as a plan for DIY?

Yes — this is one of the best uses. A photo-realistic AI redesign of your own garden gives you a clear target to copy, plus a plain-English plant list you can take to a local nursery. It removes most of the guesswork from a DIY project.

Do I still need a designer if I use an AI garden design app?

Often not. Many gardens never need a designer at all. When you do — for heavy hard landscaping or drainage — bring your AI redesign to the meeting. The designer can start from your picture, which usually makes the work faster and cheaper.

How much does AI garden design cost?

FlorAI is free to try on iOS, Android and the web app. Optional paid plans cost a few pounds a month for unlimited redesigns and higher-resolution exports — far less than a single hour of a designer’s time.

Last updated June 2026. Costs are typical 2026 ranges and vary by region. Written by the FlorAI gardening team after years of helping people choose between AI garden design, a landscape designer and DIY.