Built by people who understand the craft
Trowel exists because a real container garden design company was running their entire operation on Google Sheets, sticky notes, and email threads — and they deserved better.
The problem we set out to solve
Container garden design is a visual craft. Designers spend hours planning which plants go where, which colors balance, which sun requirements are compatible. They have deep horticultural knowledge — and they were wasting it on administrative work that a good tool should handle automatically.
When a designer finishes a pot design, they had to manually describe it to a client over email. The client couldn't visualize it. Revisions happened after planting. Mistakes were expensive. Shopping lists were built plant-by-plant in spreadsheets. Approval workflows were tracked in someone's head.
The original version of this tool was built as a Google Apps Script application inside a Google Sheets file. It worked remarkably well. Designers used it every day. The AI reviews, the image generation, the approval workflow — it was all there, running inside a spreadsheet.
Trowel is that same tool, rebuilt as a proper web platform. Multi-tenant, secure, scalable, beautiful. The workflow is identical — because the workflow worked. The difference is everything else: real authentication, team collaboration, a marketing-quality UI, and infrastructure that won't break when it grows.
Our design philosophy
Garden designers are visually oriented professionals. A tool that looks like a spreadsheet feels like an insult to their craft. Trowel should look like it was designed by someone who appreciates plants — warm, professional, organic without being precious.
The AI features should be invisible in the best possible way. Designers should never need to think about prompts or model selection. They save a design and an image appears. They submit a design and an AI review is waiting for them in the morning. The technology is in service of the work, not the other way around.
And critically: the tool should respect designer expertise. If a designer's notes say “no thriller plant in this design,” the AI does not suggest adding one. It reviews how well the design achieves its intended goals. The designer is the expert. Trowel is the assistant.
What we believe
Designers shouldn't have to explain their designs in email — they should be able to show photorealistic images.
AI is most useful when it's invisible — handling the tedious parts so designers can focus on the creative work.
Quality control shouldn't depend on someone's memory — it should be built into the workflow.
Tools for creative professionals should be beautiful. The craft deserves it.
Your data is yours. Always. Trowel will never lock you in.
The principles behind every decision
Respect the craft
Container gardening is a skilled profession. Trowel should make experts feel more capable, not talk down to them.
AI that stays out of the way
The best AI assistance is the kind you barely notice. It should handle the routine so you can focus on the creative.
Security by design
Multi-tenant isolation means your org's data is never accessible to anyone else, at the database level.
Real workflows
Features are built around actual design-to-approval-to-install workflows, not hypothetical use cases.
Honest limits
AI is good at pattern recognition, not horticultural judgment. Trowel reviews designs — designers make the final call.
Built to last
This is a tool professionals will rely on. It should be stable, fast, and get better over time.