Site Map
The Site Map is an interactive map of your growing site. Use it to place Elements at their real-world locations, draw site features like boundaries and paths, analyse sun exposure, and build layered design overlays for planting plans, water systems, and more.
Each Hub has one Site Map shared by all members. Permanent features — boundaries, buildings, trees — stay put even as you create new Workspaces for different seasons.
Opening the Site Map
There are three ways to reach the Site Map:
- Click More → Site Map in the main navigation.
- Click the Site Map button on your Hub dashboard.
- Click View on Map from any Element that has been placed.
Base Map Layers
The map defaults to a street view. Use the Layers dropdown in the toolbar to switch between three base maps:
| Layer | Best for |
|---|---|
| Street | General orientation, roads, labels. |
| Satellite | Seeing actual vegetation, rooftops, and ground cover. Useful when drawing boundaries. |
| Topographic | Contour lines and elevation. Helps with water flow and earthwork planning. |
Placing Elements
Elements like beds, structures, plants, and compost bays can be placed on the map to record their physical position.
- Click the Place Element mode button in the toolbar.
- A side panel lists all unplaced Elements. Select the one you want to place.
- Click on the map at the correct location. The Element's coordinates are saved immediately.
Once placed, the Element appears as a coloured marker. Click any marker to see its name, type, and status, with a link to its full detail page. To move an Element, place it again at the new location.
Placed Elements also show their coordinates and a View on Map link on their detail page, so you can always jump straight to their location.
Drawing Features
Switch to Draw mode to sketch site features directly on the map. Select a feature type from the side panel, then use the drawing tools to create lines, polygons, and shapes.
| Feature Type | What it represents |
|---|---|
| Boundary | Site perimeter or property lines. |
| Bed | Growing areas (raised beds, in-ground beds, rows). |
| Path | Walkways and access routes through the garden. |
| Structure | Buildings, sheds, greenhouses, fences. |
| Water | Ponds, swales, irrigation lines, rainwater tanks. |
| Contour | Contour lines for earthwork and keyline planning. |
| Zone | Permaculture zones (0–5) for frequency of visit. |
| Custom | Anything else — label it yourself. |
Each drawn feature can have a label and a colour. Click any feature to edit its properties or delete it.
Design Layers
Design layers let you build separate overlays on top of the base map. Use them for seasonal planting plans, irrigation layouts, food forest designs, or any other scheme you want to visualise independently.
- Open the Layers dropdown and click + New Layer.
- Name the layer (for example, "2026 Summer Plan" or "Water System").
- In Draw mode, select your new layer from the Draw to dropdown before drawing. Features you create will be saved to that layer.
- Toggle layers on and off using the checkboxes in the Layers panel.
- Rename or delete a layer using the pencil and cross buttons next to its name.
Base map features (boundary, structures) and design layer features are stored separately, so you can experiment with design ideas without affecting your permanent site record.
Sun Path Overlay
The sun path overlay shows the arc of the sun across your site at any time of year. This helps you understand shadow patterns, plan shade-sensitive plantings, and position structures for maximum or minimum sun exposure.
- Make sure the Sun Path overlay is enabled in the Layers panel.
- Click Set point to choose the analysis location on the map (for example, the centre of a bed you are planning).
- Use the date slider or the preset buttons (Today, Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, Equinox, All) to see how the sun arc changes through the year.
The overlay displays sunrise and sunset positions, the noon altitude, and the full arc path. Comparing summer and winter arcs quickly reveals which parts of your site get full sun year-round and which are shaded in winter.
Exporting
Click Export SVG to download the current map view as an SVG file. The export includes all visible layers, drawn features, and element markers. Use it for printed site plans, design portfolios, or presentations.