Garden Planning and Architecture Software – The Top 3 Pick

Garden planning software helps you do your landscaping by actually showing you what it’ll look like in detailed 3D. You can lay out all of your yard’s plants, furniture and features to see what looks best before you do any digging or rearranging.

There are lots of software programs available that allow you to do professional-grade landscaping, but three programs in particular get high rankings and rave reviews. The top 3 picks are Realtime Landscaping Plus, Landscaping Deck and Patio, and Home Designer Landscape and Deck.

Realtime Landscaping Plus by Idea Spectrum

Idea Spectrum is known for its programs that are both powerful and user-friendly. Like all garden planning software, Realtime Landscaping takes some time to learn how to use. The 2012 version has a more streamlined interface than older versions and expanded features.

Realtime Landscaping gives you three different viewing options – top down, realistic 3D or 2D blueprint. You can switch between them while you work. One of the program’s strengths is that it lets you make realistic video walk-throughs of your creations to see what it’ll look like. The still pictures also look great; they look so good you can use the program for image creation.

Realtime Landscaping offers more features than any other program. It has over 10,000 realistic objects and this includes nearly any plant, furniture or accessory that you can imagine. You can browse or search and if there’s anything you don’t see, you can import images from Google’s 3D Warehouse.

The animals and people don’t look quite as real as the plants or objects, which are so real it’s almost scary. You almost feel like you can reach out and touch them. There are over 6,000 high-resolution plants to choose from and you can search by common name, botanical name, planting zone or size. You can also choose the age and height of plants. The program is packed with data to help you choose plants, like where they grow, how tall they grow, growth rate and rain requirements. You can even create custom plant varieties

For all that this program does, it’s priced well. It’s a mid-range program but it does as much as many of the higher-priced professional ones. Idea Spectrum offers excellent technical support and there’s a demo of the program on their website so you can try before you buy.

Landscaping Deck and Patio by Punch! Software

Punch! Software’s Landscaping Deck and Patio program also lets you create professional gardening plans. It’s a bit easier to use than Realtime Landscaping. Everything’s just drag and drop. The program comes with a library of materials to help you use it that include step-by-step tutorials, a thick user’s manual, videos, a wizard, and online help in its forums. Menu bars at the top of the interface make it easy to navigate.

You can adjust the time of day and position of the sun for your garden and the ‘Render Final Quality’ function shows you a realistic image of what it’ll look like. You can make selections for wind and shadows. One unique feature that Landscaping Deck and Patio offers is a view from above that resembles Google Earth.

This program doesn’t have as many features as some do. It’s a bit stripped down and simple. It doesn’t come with templates (which you can’t use in the final creation of your garden plan anyway) and although it has lots of plants, it doesn’t offer quite as many options on age and size.

It does, however, offer a few things other programs don’t. One of Punch! Software’s signature features is called ‘Going Green.’ Click it and it suggests some environmentally-friendly energy saving tips.

This program really excels when it comes to laying out pools, decks and sprinkler systems. The Pool Designer is much more detailed than any other program’s. This program also comes with a Price Estimator that tells you how much your design is going to cost.

You can easily alter any object by using the 3D Custom Workshop. All you have to do is double-click the object and this menu appears. You can also auto-click the placement of plants and edit them by double-clicking. The program also lets you create your own outdoor furniture.

Home Designer Landscape and Deck

Chief Architect’s Home Designer Landscape and Deck is another software program that scores consistently well on detail and ease of use. This program comes with tons of different templates and a huge image gallery to help you get ideas.

This program is a little bit lacking in its number of objects you can put in your garden. Still, it has over 3,000 flowers and plants for all different climates and an easy-to-use search tool that lets you find them according to name, climate, sunshine requirements, or color. When you double-click any plant, it also gives you all of this information.

The decking tools on this program are really outstanding. They let you create a detailed 3D deck and also tell you all the materials you’re going to need and a cost estimate. After you’re done planning your deck with the program, you’re ready to head to the hardware store and pick up what you need.

The 3D editing is good but it’s not as realistic as the editing of some programs. You can zoom around the house and yard like you’re using a camera, but you don’t get images that are so realistic you can publish them.

One of the strengths of the program is that it has an excellent interface. The interface is clean and simple, so it’s not as cluttered as the interfaces of other products. The tools are located right at the top and easy to find.

All three of these are very high quality programs that allow you to plan your garden like a pro. Realtime Landscaping by Idea Spectrum offers the most in terms of objects and realism. Punch! Software’s Landscaping Deck and Patio offers the Going Green option and great tools for your pool, and Chief Architect’s Home Designer Landscape and Deck has great decking tools and templates. Both of these are also cheaper and easier to use.