Sun Garden

Draw an area to see its sunlight, soil and what will grow there.

    In Canada, trees and tall hedges come from LiDAR automatically. Elsewhere, or for anything planted or cut since the survey (and thin fences), add the ones that shade your area. Click one to change its height.

    Limitations & data sources
    • Sun: sun path for the 15th of each month (SunCalc), shadows from OSM buildings and your obstacles, plus the terrain horizon (Terrarium DEM, 5 km). Building heights in OSM are often estimated.
    • Weather: NASA POWER 25-year climatology. "Effective" sun hours scale direct sun by the real-sky/clear-sky radiation ratio.
    • Hardiness: average of each winter's coldest night, 2001–2024. NASA's reanalysis can run cold, so it may read up to a zone colder than official maps.
    • Soil: ISRIC SoilGrids, 250 m regional estimate (not a site test). Gardens often have imported or improved soil, so override it if you know better.
    • Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Imagery: Esri, Vantor, Earthstar Geographics and the GIS User Community.
    • LiDAR and Canadian elevation data: contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

    Estimates only, no warranty. About, privacy & credits