Free garden tools

Software I built for the way Louisiana actually grows

Four tools, all free, all built around Lafayette's heat, humidity, and frost dates. No account, no app to install — open them on your phone in the garden.

Design Lab Plant Doctor Victory Garden Native Plant Finder

Tool 01

Design Lab

Photo of your yard in, planting plan out.

Snap a picture of the bed, the fence line, or the whole front yard, tell it what you're after — shade, butterflies, something the deer won't eat — and Design Lab drafts a layout with real plants placed at real spacing.

A planting diagram drawn to scale, with each plant numbered and labeled.
A plant list pulled from what the nursery actually grows, so you can walk in and buy it.
Two versions — a simple one for you, a detailed one you can hand to a contractor.

Open Design Lab →

Design Lab

Step one — upload a photo of the spot you want to plant.

Tool 02

Plant Doctor

Yellow leaves, brown spots, something chewing — find out what it is.

Take a photo of the sick plant, say what kind of plant it is, and Plant Doctor checks it against more than 30 million pathology and insect records — plus today's weather in your zip code, because a fungus in a Lafayette August is a different problem than one in March.

A diagnosis with a confidence score, in plain English, not Latin.
Bug or not a bug? It looks for insect damage first and tells you when it isn't one.
Organic options first, conventional ones if you need them, and a note on whether the plant even needs treating.

Open Plant Doctor →

Real report · Lafayette, late August 90% confidence

Watermelon Peperomia (Peperomia argyreia)

Fungal Leaf Spot

What it saw: Irregular brown-to-rust spots on the underside of a leaf — the pattern of a fungal infection, not a pest. No frass, webbing, or feeding damage found.
Why now: Late summer heat and humidity are prime time for leaf-spot fungi, especially indoors where air doesn't move.
Organic fix easy: Prune and toss the spotted leaves. Let the top inch of soil dry between waterings, stop watering from overhead, and give it a little airflow.
If it keeps spreading medium: Organic copper fungicide, or a chlorothalonil product for a stubborn case.

"Monitor closely. Implement cultural improvements first."

Tool 03

Victory Garden

Ask "can I plant this now?" and get a straight answer.

Type a crop and your zip code. Victory Garden pulls your frost dates, the current forecast, and the crop's days-to-maturity, then tells you whether to plant today, wait, or pick something else — with the reasoning spelled out.

A yes or a no, plus the exact window when the answer becomes yes.
The numbers behind it — frost risk date, maturity time, current temperatures.
What to do instead when it's the wrong season, and what's in stock at the nursery to do it with.

Open Victory Garden →

Real result · Sept 5, 2026 Zip 70501 · Zone 9a

Subject: Okra

Hold off — season closed

"Like trying to dry laundry in a storm. The season is turning, and okra needs the long, hot days of summer to really perform."

Plant windowEarly April – July 2027

Frost riskMarch 11

Maturity50–65 days

The reasoning: Okra needs nights above 60°F to set pods. Lafayette nights dip into the 50s by mid-October, so a crop started now runs out of warmth right as it flowers.
Do this instead: Plant cool-season crops — kale, carrots, broccoli — now. Clear the bed, test your soil pH (aim for 6.0–6.8), and buy okra seed early for a March/April start.

Tool 04

Native Plant Finder

Which nursery near me has it in stock right now?

The Plant Savant Native Database scans the live plant lists of Louisiana native nurseries every night — ours included — and matches your search against what's actually on the tables today. Type a plant, give it a town or zip, and it tells you who has it, how far away, and what they're charging.

Real inventory, refreshed nightly — not a "we usually carry it" list.
Forgives spelling and common names: "lanceleaf coreopsis," "Coreopsis lanceolata," or just "coreopsis" all land.
Every native nursery on one map — seven and growing. Run a nursery? Add your list and get scanned too.

Search native availability →

Real search · Sept 5, 2026 Lafayette, LA · 50 mi

Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

In stock at 2 nurseries

The Urban Naturalist0 mi · LafayetteLance leaf coreopsis · $2 list scanned this morning
Acadiana Native Plant Project13.2 mi · Arnaudville4" pot · $4 · 17 on hand

Availability changes every night — run your own search before you drive.

Why these are free

Because a plant that dies in your yard doesn't help either of us.

I built these for my own customers first — so the plants you buy here go in the right spot, at the right time, and get diagnosed before a problem spreads. Every question you ask them makes them a little better at Louisiana gardening. If they save you a plant, come tell me about it.

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