The Site Mapping Guide + Checklist
Discover my site mapping guide and checklist.
Introducing the Site Mapping Guide + Checklist
Once I have clarified the brief, I stop thinking about what I want to add and spend time reading what is already there.
Mapping is how I make the conditions of a site visible. The sun and shadow. The way water moves. Where frost settles. The direction of the wind. The views I want to hold onto, the ones I might want to soften, and the paths people already take without being asked. It is where observation becomes practice.
In The Productive Garden Companion, I describe the trace-layer mapping process I use in my own work and in garden design workshops. It is deliberately simple. I start with a base plan, usually an aerial image, a hand-drawn site sketch or a scaled drawing if I already have one. Then I lay tracing paper over it and map one condition at a time.
One condition. One sheet.
That matters because each layer tells a clearer story when it is allowed to stand on its own. Sun on one sheet. Wind on another. Water, frost, soil, existing vegetation, access, views, privacy, noise and utilities on others. At Little Cottage on a Hill I also pay attention to wildlife movement, human-use patterns and the small microclimates that become apparent only after living with the site.
The drawings do not need to be beautiful. Mine certainly are not presentation drawings. They are working drawings: arrows, blocks of colour, hatching, circles, words and quick notes. Their job is to help me think.
I often begin with an aerial image from Google Maps, Google Earth or something similar, then enlarge it using one dimension I know to be correct. At Little Cottage on a Hill, my north-facing boundary is 27 metres (89 feet) long, so I can use that line to bring the printout to a useful working scale. From there, sheets of tracing paper or unwaxed baking paper let me keep returning to exactly the same base.
The most important part, though, is not the drawing. It is the returning.
A site changes through the day and across the year. The place that is warm and protected in winter might be fiercely hot in summer. A dry corner can become the route water takes after heavy rain. A quiet edge may behave differently when the garden is full of people. If you can, observe across a full year. If that is not realistic, try to see the site at least at the seasonal extremes, from midsummer to midwinter, and at different times of day.
Over time, the layers begin to speak to each other. Perhaps your sunniest place is also your best-draining. That is a golden pocket. Perhaps the area where you need privacy is also your windiest corner. That is useful information too, because one design response may be able to do more than one job.
This guide walks you through creating a simple base plan, scaling it from a known dimension, recording the ground truth of your site and building up trace layers one condition at a time. The checklist gives you a practical way to keep track of what you have mapped, what needs another look and what you have begun to notice.
Do not use it to rush towards a solution.
Use it to know your place better.
Then bring your Garden Design Brief back beside the mappings and begin testing possibilities against what the site has shown you.
Download your copy here
The Site Mapping Guide + Checklist — discover my site mapping guide and checklist.
Related Resources
The Garden Design Brief, Circular Calendar Template and the Zone-Planning Worksheet from the book live in the resources library too. And The Productive Garden Companion itself is the long version of everything here.
Workshops
My workshops are about fostering the reconnection between the layers of everyday life, the self and the natural world.
Time: 10am to 1pm
Dates:
Saturday 21st November 2026
Location: Stonewalls, Musk.
For as long as I can remember, I have tended a productive garden. From childhood veggie patches to the abundant landscapes of Oak and Monkey Puzzle, growing has always grounded me and shaped how I see the world. This workshop draws from that lived experience.
Whether you're working with a courtyard, a veggie patch or a larger garden, this is about creating a productive space that offers both beauty and abundance.
We explore what productive gardening really means. I share how my process has evolved across very different properties—Oak and Monkey Puzzle and Little Cottage on a Hill and for the first time, Stonewalls—blending hands-on learning with thoughtful intent.
We cover soil care, compost systems, green manures, vertical growing, chickens, worms and closed-loop cycles. You’ll see how I use wicking beds as productive, water-wise microclimates, and how I approach different soil types and site conditions.
We talk about heirlooms and hybrids, perennial and medicinal layers, espalier techniques, and the role of beauty in even the most functional plantings.
This is not a technical how-to on growing food. It is a practical and inspiring session on preparing and shaping a garden that is generous, resilient and connected to place. You’ll leave with tools and ideas to help you begin.
Dates: Sunday 1st November 2026
Time: 10 AM – 12.30 PM
Location: Little Cottage on a Hill, Daylesford
For years, I’ve designed gardens that balance beauty, productivity, and sustainability, but when I discovered wicking beds, they transformed the way I grow. These self-watering garden beds have changed everything—from reducing water use to making gardening more accessible, efficient, and abundant.
In this hands-on workshop, I’ll guide you through the practical steps to create your own wicking beds—whether you’re working with a small courtyard, a backyard, or a larger productive space. You’ll gain an in-depth understanding of how wicking beds work, how to build them using IBC containers, and how to create a thriving, water-wise garden with minimal effort.
We’ll explore my own wicking bed garden at Little Cottage on a Hill, where I’ve grown everything from celery and purple sprouting broccoli to sugar snap peas and edible flowers—all with less watering and less maintenance. You’ll leave with the knowledge and confidence to build a garden that is not only sustainable and resilient but also deeply rewarding to tend.
This workshop is designed for anyone looking to garden smarter—not harder. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned grower, wicking beds are a game-changer in sustainable and productive gardening.
Time: 10.00am - 1.00pm
Dates:
Saturday 7th November 2026
Location: Daylesford, Victoria
Whether you're starting from scratch or reshaping an existing space, this half-day garden design workshop invites you to see your garden differently. From the structure of the land up, this is not a plant-by-plant session. It is a place to think like a landscape architect and begin shaping your dream garden with clarity and purpose.
Together, we’ll explore the fundamental principles that guide thoughtful garden design. You’ll learn how to observe and respond to the unique conditions of a site, and how to work with what already exists to support the kind of space you want to create. We’ll talk about how to create rhythm, balance and a sense of flow in the garden. Not through formulas, but through a practice of observation, clarity and intention.
Using tracing paper and bold textas, you’ll begin a layered, iterative design process based on Natasha's own garden. A technique that prioritises experience over detail. This isn’t about where your grandma’s rose will go. It is about learning to see the bigger picture, and how to design in a way that brings coherence and life to your space.
You’ll leave with the tools to create your own garden brief, a new approach to site mapping and design thinking grounded in landscape architecture, and a renewed way of seeing and shaping your garden. No matter its size or complexity.
We draw from real projects such as Oak and Monkey Puzzle and Little Cottage on a Hill, and explore how to reimagine constraints as creative opportunities. There is also a guided tour of Little Cottage on a Hill, where we see how theory comes to life in a compact space.
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Hello!
If you're here, you've stepped a little further into the pages of my book — and arrived a little ahead of everyone else. The book is in your hands early, and everything behind this page will be ready on 11 September, just before publication day on the 15th. I can’t wait to share more with you.
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Community & Collaboration
Everything I do is about connection and community. I’m deeply passionate about meeting and working with people, brands and businesses that align with my values. If you think we’d create magic together — I want to hear about it!
Acknowledgment of Country
We acknowledge the first custodians of the land on which we live and work, the Wurrundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We pay respects to Elders past, present and emerging and to all First Nations People. Sovereignty was never ceeded and treaties were never signed.
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