Elements — The Things in Your Garden

An element is anything in your garden that you want to track over time. Elements have types:

Your First Element: The Garden Site

Start by creating an element that represents your whole garden:

1. Go to Elements → New Element
2. Label: Give it a name (e.g., "42 Smith St Garden" or "My Backyard")
3. Type: Structure
4. Description: A brief description — size, location, how long you've been growing here
5. Save it

This is the root of your garden's element tree. Everything else connects to it.

Adding Beds and Zones

Now create elements for your main growing areas:

• Each bed gets its own element (type: Bed)
• Each zone or distinct area gets one too

Don't overthink it — start with 2-3 beds or areas. You can always add more later.

Placing Elements on the Site Map

Once you've created your structure and bed elements, open the Site Map from the More menu. This is an interactive map where you can:

1. Switch to Place Element mode
2. Select each element from the sidebar
3. Click on the map at its real-world location

Your elements now have geographic coordinates. You can also use the Sun Path overlay to check where shadows fall at different times of year — very useful when deciding what to plant where.

The Site Map also lets you draw boundaries, paths, water features, and create design layers for seasonal planting plans.

How Elements Accumulate History

Every time you create an activity and link an element to it, that element's history grows. Over weeks and months, your bed element accumulates:

• The design activity that planned it
• The build activity that created it
• Every planting, every soil test, every harvest
• Photos at different stages

This is the power of provenance. Your bed isn't just a name — it has a complete life story, built automatically from the activities you record.