Budget a rectangular garden before generating a layout. Paths are counted once where they meet. This is an area check, not a placement: zones still need a usable shape.
Example: a 6 × 8 m garden is 48 m². A 1 m perimeter path leaves a 4 × 6 m interior; a 1 m central path through it takes 6 m², leaving 18 m². Lawn 6 m², patio 4 m² and beds 4 m² total 14 m², leaving 4 m² spare.
Open this garden size in GoSpacePlan
Formulas
Gross area = width × length. With a perimeter path e, the interior is (width − 2e) × (length − 2e). A central path c running the interior's length adds c × (length − 2e). Available = interior − central path. Zones fit the budget when their total ≤ available; in GoSpacePlan each zone also needs a strip at least 1.5 m wide.
Next steps
The garden zone budget guide works through this example, and planning a long, narrow garden shows what happens when the strips get thin. Then open the garden planner.
