How to Find Free Landscape Design Software
If you want to design your own landscape and would like the convenience of being able to play around with it on your computer, you might want to try using a landscape design software. If you just want some basic forms and layouts without much detail or flexibility, you may find a free landscape software will handle your needs just fine. Most programs are best used to help you visualize your design. Here are some suggestions on how to find free landscape design software. Does this Spark an idea?
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Be realistic about your expectations. The BBC has a free landscape design software by the name of Virtual Garden Designer. It will give you the basics you need to help visualize how your garden will look with the changes you plan to design. Don't expect a full service design program or the ability to do CAD layouts, but do consider using this program to get a virtual look at your ideas in your garden.
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Compare the features you are getting. BHG (Better Homes and Gardens) Plan A Garden Landscape Software offers a good product for the price. You can get a 'drag and drop' simple layout and move around plants and features like sheds and ponds. Using this free software program you can make the job of planning your garden considerably easier.
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Decide if you want 3D capabilities. Google Sketch-Up has a very impressive looking 3D modeling program for a free software. It is basically a professional program distilled down to its most simplistic format. A good program for basic design, it is quite limited in what you can actually do with it. But it will still give you the necessary tools to get your design onto paper and it will offer you the chance to play around with your ideas on your computer.
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How much flexibility do you need? Smart Draw offers a landscape program for free, too. Like most free programs, your flexibility is limited and you will have to work with the templates you are given, but you can still do a lot with this landscape program.
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Look at whether you need to be online to use a program. Show off is a very simple program in which you send a picture of your yard space and it is adapted to plugging in individual features to see what your space will look like. It is not very flexible and must be used online connected to the site, but it can be quite useful to help you visualize your design.
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Any design will only be as good as the designer, and this holds true for landscaping design as well. Yet creating a design for a piece of property -- no matter how simplistic -- will help avoid making costly mistakes. You can sketch your plan by hand, try a free computer program, get involved in-depth with a more advanced landscape software, or hire a professional to help or to do your plans all together. All planning is better than digging in to unplanned landscaping and having it go wrong!
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There are more reasonably worthwhile free landscape software design programs available. None of them will give you the possibilities of the better programs for sale. But these programs may be all you need, or simply provide a good start for using more involved programs later. For more information on how to find free landscape design software, please check the links below under Resources. And learn more about landscaping and landscape design at http://www.gardengates.info.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Design & photo by author, Gates & Croft Horticultural Design
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Comments
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GreenMomma
Feb 02, 2009
GREAT IDEA!
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Kallicat
Feb 01, 2009
Wonderful information that I will revisit in the Spring.
