Garden Design on Your Computer, Part 1: a mini-review of the available software

By Jan Recchio (grampapa) February 17, 2008

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Are you the gardener in your group with the geek status? That's me...there's a gardener in my soul, but the computer systems analyst in my head pays for the plants. You need some computer savvy to learn to use some of the garden design software that is available, but you certainly don't need to be a 'PC professional'.

Maybe you're tired of the graph paper and colored pencils.  Or you never get around to actually designing a garden bed before you build it because you think you haven't got the patience (or the talent?) to draw it all out.  There is garden design software out there for the home hobby gardener at a considerably lower cost than what landscaping professionals spend.  If you have intermediate computer skills in the use of office software, you should be able to negotiate one of these landscaping programs.  A few of them are basic enough for those of you who only use your computer for e-mail and Dave's Garden.

In this first part of a 4-part series I am going to attempt to review the available software for garden design.  I am not a professional reviewer.  There may be some that I miss and I apologize for that.  I am taking a 'skinnied-down' approach of the method I used when purchasing million dollar software in my pre-retirement job.  A series of questions was submitted to the vendor of each software package via e-mail concerning various features available, price and what platforms it runs on (i.e. Windows XP, Mac X).  The responses have been compiled into a table.  If no response was received, that is indicated in the table and I have included whatever information I could derive from their web site.   I also asked what made their software different from their competitors'.

*Indicates vendor did not respond to questionnaire.  Reviewer has completed grid from information available on vendor's web site.

**This program is no longer sold or being upgraded by the original developer, Riverdeep.  I have added it at the end of the table for comparison because it is the one with which I am most familiar.  I purchased it around 2002 and it may still be available from a 3rd party seller.

3D Garden Composer by DiComp, Inc.

This moderately-priced package seems to have a lot going for it in the way of unique features.  In addition to a grow-by-year view, it has a 4-season view.  This should be included in all gardening software in my opinion.  It is so unrealistic to see the mums blooming with the daffodils.  You can add animals, such as swans and horses, vehicles like bicycles and yachts (yes, yachts!) and shear your shrubs into topiaries with a shearing wizard.  A printable garden care calendar is one of the more practical features.  Upgrades are half-price and the software is multi-lingual (English, Spanish, French).  There's even a stereo mode you can use if you happen to have a pair of 3D glasses around from the last 3D movie you saw...if you really want your garden to pop out at you.  The 3D graphics are not the best and some of the features are unnecessary but look like a lot of fun.  It's worth looking at for the 4-season view alone.

FLOWERscape from Voudette, Inc.

This is a very simple (in theory) piece of software.  I say "in theory" because I have no way of knowing if it is, indeed, simple to use or not.  Some of the links on their web site are broken and the 'How FLOWERscape Works' tab doesn't show much.  It look like a very basic a) choose a background b) choose a shape for the bed c) add the plants.  No overhead views, no buildings, no walk-thrus, no pools or water features...just flowers.  If there is any more to it, I didn't see it.  I would stick to colored pencils and paper or try one of the free sites listed at the end of the article.  You can take a look at the web site and decide for yourself.

Realtime Landscaping PRO from IDEA Spectrum 

Realtime Landscaping PRO is the most expensive package I reviewed at $99.95. They have another product, Realtime Landscaping PLUS that, according to a contact from the company, is the same package except that it does not include the water features. The PLUS product sells for $20 less ($79.95). As you would expect, there are more features in this package than the less expensive ones and the graphics are better. Even considering that, I found this software pretty impressive. There are 'wizards' to help you with quick starts for a house, landscape, pond and pool; also for importing pictures and downloading models from the Google 3D Warehouse*** to add more objects. If you have a lot of planning to do and keep all of your gardens in your planning software as I do, it may be worth the relatively small investment. The image at the right is one I put together very quickly of the front of my house. ^[1]

*** Author's note: if you get proficient at Google SketchUp you can build your own 3D objects and import them

plan3D from plan3D, Inc.

Here is an online-only tool that you subscribe to on a yearly basis for the best price.  The fairly sophisticated software has free updates and new object models that are available to you immediately because of the online format.  You can load the software on your PC, but you still need to be connected to the internet for the object models because of the size of the files.  The building tools are full-featured including interiors, but you can also drop in a pre-built home.  The 3D graphics are average.  They state that they will add new models at the request of users and you can use your own texture files.  If you decide to drop your subscription, you will still have access to your plans and even the ability to modify and print, but you will no longer be able to save.  My main concern with the online format is if the company goes out of business you will lose all of your data.  If you have put a lot of time into your plans this could be a huge loss. 

This program is totally unique in the group.  It is an online vegetable garden planner/tracker.  As you add your plants, you choose a variety, give a date when you started the plants indoors if it applies, and a planting date.  The software fills in approximate dates to maturity based on the variety you choose.  There are 2 nice logs; one for tracking your harvest (by individual plant if that is way you recorded it, or by variety) and another for daily activity.  You can share experiences with other gardeners, by zone if you wish, on their forum.  Suggestions for improvements to the software are accepted on the forum as well.  Also, you can choose to make your garden shareable or private.  The web site touts the advantage of having your garden design and records online because you don't have to worry about hard drive failure or backups.  This can be a big negative, though, if the company goes out of business as I stated above.  All your data on your plan and harvest will be lost.  Sign up for the 45-day full-feature free trial if you are interested. ^[2]

Punch! Master Landscape Pro from Punch! Software

This is the top-of-the-line in the landscape series from Punch! Software.  It includes a long list of what they call Power Tools; Deck, Fence, Pool & Topography Designers, Plant Editor, 3D Custom Workshop and many more.  There are video tutorials to help the less-experienced user get started.  As you gain confidence with the program you can try working with more of the power tools.  The 3D graphics look good from what I can see, as you would expect on a higher end product. ^[3] 

Total 3D Home & Landscape Design Suite 9.0 from Individual Software, Inc.

Total 3D Home & Landscape seems to be a very economical solution with an excellent set of features for the price.  There is no free trial or online demo, although the company representative said the demo will be available soon.  At right is just one page of the product brochure...the one which describes the landscape-oriented piece of the software.  You can view the entire brochure at the web site.  Included are 2,500 photos of designer homes & landscapes for inspiration and ideas.  There are also sample home and garden plans.

TurboFloorPlan Landscape & Deck from Riverdeep

As near as I can tell from the web site, this product only allows the addition of a house by importing a photo.  If you want to build and/or use a pre-built house, you will have to move up to Riverdeep's TurboFloorPlan Home & Landscape Pro, at $129.95.  Also, this software supports plans from versions 5-8 of 3D Home Architect which is where I have the drawings of my house, but this will only be useful to a limited number of people.  Some of the features that I liked in the other packages are included here; four-season view, Google SketchUp imports, 3D walk-through.  It's difficult to make a judgment about the quality of the graphics with what is available on the web site.

There is also some bargain software available.  Probably no longer supported by the manufacturer, these are full-blown versions.  You should be careful to ascertain that the title you are interested in is compatible with your system.  There are several at Super Home Center.  Even better are the two totally free planners I found online; Better Homes and Gardens Plan-A-Garden and BBC Gardening Virtual Garden.  They aren't sophisticated, but you can get a rough idea of how a particular plan might look.  Costs nothing to check it out.

It's winter, gardeners!  The perfect time for planning.  And for learning something new.  Look for the second installment in this series next week when we will take a look at which program is right for you.

^[1] Garden plan screen shot used with permission from IDEA Spectrum.

^[2] Garden plan screen shot used with permission from plangarden.

^[3] Brochure image used with permission from Punch! Software.

^[4] Brochure image used with permission from Individual Software, Inc.

About Jan Recchio   I'm a 'dabble' gardener. Been gardening for over 40 years. I will plant anything that will grow for me and some things that won't, indoors or out. Outdoors I have theme gardens: roses, butterfly/hummingbird, heathers/dwarf conifers, a rock garden (in progress) and a new English-style cottage garden with an herb garden at it's 'heart'. Indoors I try to concentrate on orchids, African violets, anything that will flower or has lots of color and unusual houseplants. I try to stay organic and keep chemicals to a bare minimum. My non-gardening interests include quilting, counted cross-stitch and watercolor painting. I am a proud grandma and before my recent retirement, I was a clinical systems analyst (computer geek) for 24 years.

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Subject: 3D Home Architech Design Suite available

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Posted by wooconley (from Oak Hill, OH) on March 10, 2008 at 5:20 PM:

hi, I did a search and found "3D Home Architect Home & Landscape Deluxe Suite Version 9" at

[HYPERLINK@www.3dhaonline.com]

Is it the same?

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on March 10, 2008 at 7:19 PM:

It's now put out by Punch! and is not compatible with the version I have. So basically, it is different software with the same name. That being said, it could very well be a good product, but there is not a lot of info given on the web site. The few pics look ok.

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Posted by daleapowell (from Flower Mound, TX) on February 22, 2008 at 6:54 PM:

This is a great subject and I like your approach. I am a container gardner - do you suppose you could address how easy these programs would make adding "pot objects" and then adding plants to the pots?

Thanks

Dale

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 24, 2008 at 7:54 AM:

I do address that somewhat in Part4, which will run on Sunday, March 9. If you are particularly interested in pots, I would e-mail the individual companies you are interested in and ask how many 'pot objects' are available. There are creative ways of making some of your own as well.

Sorry it took me so long to answer you. I had to take a look and make sure I HAD an answer LOL.

~ jan

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Posted by daleapowell (from Flower Mound, TX) on February 24, 2008 at 4:09 PM:

Thanks Jan! Your answer was worth waiting for. I look forward to your next issues.
The 4 season view capabilities seems like it would be usefull and fun. I'm interested in being able to place generic resizeable containers on my deck. I typically put 1 to 3 plants in each: a tall, medium and spiller. Making my own pot object would be OK, since I'm more interested in how the plants fit with each other than what the pots look like.

Dale

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Posted by frausnow (from Winterville, GA) on February 18, 2008 at 10:22 AM:

Jan,
How did you know I was looking for garden design software?! Your article is very helpful and I'll be checking out the links you provided. I had already found the Garden Composer website and thought it was great. I also came across this link:
[HYPERLINK@www.smallblueprinter.com] for an online garden planner, which is also downloadable for $19.99, I think.

Thanks for doing all the legwork for me!

JoAnn

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 18, 2008 at 10:29 AM:

JoAnn, I just felt the vibes. it's something we computer geeks can do LOL hope you find something you like. For me, it's like playing with a computer game.

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Posted by Braveheartsmom (from Kihei, HI) on February 18, 2008 at 2:35 AM:

This has come at a great time for me as I have a whole area of the garden which is now a blank slate due to a septic tank installation. Thank you very much for a very good run-down of the available programs.
Jen

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 18, 2008 at 9:51 AM:

Jen, you're very welcome. There are probably good programs that I have missed. But at least this gives you a starting point. I hope you find something that works for you.

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Posted by rcn48 (from Lexington, VA) on February 17, 2008 at 6:37 AM:

You've inspired me to find the design program I purchased about 5 years ago and try playing with it again :) Looking forward to your 'second installment' next week!

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 17, 2008 at 9:00 AM:

Deb...atta girl!

you're welcome...jan

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Posted by DonShirer (from Westbrook, CT) on February 17, 2008 at 9:44 AM:

Good start, Jan! I'll be watching for your next episode.
You may have noticed that there is not much on your list for those of us who still have the non-intel macs.
There are quite a few Mac compatible garden design apps out there. A few that I know of are:

Vectorworks (Professional $1000+)
Google Sketchup (not landscape oriented but easy to play with-Free, Pro version $495)
Virtual Garden (Free from [HYPERLINK@www.bbc.co.uk] worthwhile)
Punch Home Design ($150, Studio Pro version $250-over 4000 plants!)
Concept Draw VI ($100-Pro version $249--not landscape oriented)
Flowerscape (Mac & Win $34--nice demo showing blooming by season)
Design your own Home Landscape (www.theliquidateher.com - classic mac mode only)
   (They also have a veggie design program called Sprout)
Better Homes & Gardens has several programs, nice demos
    Home Designer 7 ($59), Home Designer Pro 7 ($95)
   Architectural Home Designer ($199--2000+ plants), Landscape and Deck Designer ($89)
    3D Home Architect Landscape (or Home) Design Deluxe Version 9 ( $30 each)

Maybe someone else can contribute more?

This message was edited Feb 17, 2008 12:11 PM

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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 17, 2008 at 9:55 AM:

This is very interesting. I've tried a couple of the free type ones and just didn't have much luck. I have moderate computer skills, at least I think I do. I realize the programing for these things much be very complex, but I don't understand why so many seem to be less than user friendly for those of us who are not computer "geeks" I want to check out on on garden plans, that would be super.
Great article, thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to your next one.

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 17, 2008 at 10:06 AM:

Hey, Don, thanks for the contributions. I'm sure there are other Mac users who will appreciate it. I didn't deliberately leave them out, just found what I could. Only looked at those under $100 and only landscape oriented.

actually just found another review that include the 3DHD
[HYPERLINK@landscaping-software-review.toptenreviews.com]

thanks, doccat. hope you find something you like

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 17, 2008 at 10:12 AM:

oops, sorry, that was vs 6 of 3DHD.

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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 17, 2008 at 1:09 PM:

Thanks for a wonderful article! I've tried a couple of less expensive products and gone right back to my graph paper... I find the limited lists of plant images really limiting in the packages I've played with in the past. I've created layouts with pansies that looked 4 feet tall next to 18 inch tall images of maple trees... ack!

It's clearly time to take another look at the possibilities.

I'd be happy if I could find a program that included some generic icons that I could use to show various shapes and sizes of plants in my planned landscape... I don't necessarily need something photo-realistic to replace my current graph paper and pencil system. I just want to be able to clearly indicate that a certain plant has a mounded shape, 2 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide., or that a skinny pyramidal shrub might be 10 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide at maturity. Did any of the programs you looked at allow you to create or import "generic" icons like that?

Maybe with thousands of objects to choose from, I don't need that kind of option anymore...

I'll be spending some time checking out those online demos!

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Posted by psychw2 (from Boise, ID) on February 17, 2008 at 1:38 PM:

THANKS! I have really been wanting to buy a program and didn't know where to start. This will give me something to study. I'll be following your 4 part series.

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Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on February 17, 2008 at 2:02 PM:

Thanks Jan - same here - have hesitated. Since I will not be planning anything from scratch, I would want a program that will start with a photo of my garden or bed and will allow me to add, subtract or swap plants. I would definitely want a multi-season view as well a multi-year one. How things look with changing sun conditions would be helpful too. Most of all - I want it to be easy and user-friendly. Which one comes closest?

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Posted by psychw2 (from Boise, ID) on February 17, 2008 at 2:07 PM:

Cheater, cheater Victor! LOL... she is giving you the info, YOU are suppose to figure it out! (But when you do, TELL me, cuz I want what the same as YOU!!) ~ Pat

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Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on February 17, 2008 at 2:08 PM:

CopycatPat!

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 17, 2008 at 3:42 PM:

critter, all of the plant 'models' can be resized to your liking. and if you don't find the particular plant you are looking for, you can use another one with a similar 'look' and resize it appropriately.

Victor, Pat is exactly right. you have to do your homework. take a look at them. and look at the other review I left the link for above. I've built all my gardens here from scratch and had the software before I started. I've never really used photos.

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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 17, 2008 at 3:49 PM:

Jan, is that resizing true for most of the software you looked at? Maybe I just had really lousy programs to play with previously...

Thanks!

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Posted by adinamiti (from Bucuresti
(Romania)) on February 17, 2008 at 5:17 PM:

Thanks for such great info, I'll need it as I have a new house and a new garden to arrange! You gaave us the info I needed. Looking forward to your next articles!
Adina

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Posted by SCNewbie (from Anderson, SC) on February 17, 2008 at 6:20 PM:

I want to add my THANK YOU here, too! :)) I have decent computer skills (since I'm a commercial webmaster), but have also been very frustrated by the programs I've looked at.

Thanks to your article here, I've bookmarked two of them to check into further. ('Course, I also have a geek nephew living with me now, a major in computer science, so if I can't figure it out, maybe he can help me. hehehehehe)

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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 17, 2008 at 6:38 PM:

critter, yes, to my knowledge the resizing is true for all the programs. not the FREE online sites, I don't think. and quite possibly not the 'veggie only' one. The ones I have actually been able to play with it has just been a matter of either grabbing edges or editing properties.

Adina, good to hear from you. thanks

Newbie in SC, they have improved. Still take some time and patience. I'm sure some are more user friendly than others. Unfortunately, I haven't worked with all of them, so I can't point you in the right direction for that. the 'wizards' or 'quick starts' features should help. But it sounds like you have the needed skills.

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Posted by dryad57 (from Indianapolis, IN) on February 17, 2008 at 9:26 PM:

Great article Jan! I've tried a couple a few years ago, and admit I always went back to the "pencil and paper" out of frustration with the learning curve, the amount of time it took to get even the house where I wanted it, and lack of plants that I wanted. Guess it's time to take another look!!!

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