[rhollin1]

I've been researching landscape design software but I'm finding it difficult deciding which software to purchase. Is there a consensus on which software is the best?

I should note that I am a homeowner and not a landscape professional. I will be using said software to design the "layout" of my own backyard. I'd like to be able to insert the dimensions of my lot with the house on the lot and then work around the house, designing the landscaping. Does this type of software exist that isn't big $$$. Looking to not spend more than $100.

[sleepy]

Why bother with software? Why not look at your lot and plan in the real world?
What do you want? Do you want the computer to come up with a complete landscape plan? Yaaaaa right! It takes skill and years of experience to even begin to navigate a good landscape program.
Mabye you could call a contractor to do it for you.
Or mabye you might just start your own Landscape buis.?
The programs out there are just little tools to mabye" sell a job" Its all common sence in landscaping. How big does a tree get in 10 years??????? Well look it up. whats the max., a tree will grow.
Go ahead and get into cad! Or even better "punch" Have fun, you may be a land scraper yet
You dont even know how deep the puddle is rhollin.

[rhollin1]

I did not post here to receive your sarcasm sleepy. I don't need to know how big a tree gets in 10 years. I want to design my backyard. I want to look at different layouts based on the dimensions of by yard. I want to be able to play around with different designs. I want to see it in 3D on "paper" before I go out and do this. I'm not completely new to landscaping. I landscaped my current backyard with sprinklers and drips. I’m not hiring a contractor that's for sure. Most of them are rip offs anyway in my areas. Everyone I talk to has had bad experiences with them or they are overpriced.

[sleepy]

Hey bro no harm ment. Do a search up there^^^^^^^^^^^^^ type( design programs) Its been a long day. Ohh welome!:0 This place is awsome you should buy a member pass for the private gardens!

[sleepy]

You need to post in the homeowner thread to be treated as such.
I think someone might fix that?

[Stonehenge]

rhollin1, welcome to the site.

There are quite a few different software packages out there that can serve your needs (<$100 sounding like the primary constraint), but truthfully, you probably won't find a lot of people here trafficking in that level of software, just because it usually can't do enough. So you may not get a ton of recommendations. We're getting our feet wet w/ Dynascape (one of our sponsors), and one can spend upwards of $4,000 for all the bells and whistles of their software.

This software is $40, I believe, and might give you what you're after.

As for landscape contractors being rip-offs or overpriced - every profession has it's share of bad apples, but you'll catch more flies with honey than w/ vinegar here (even if the first fly you caught may not have been the fly you were looking for ).

For a single DIY project, a pencil and paper doesn't have a learning curve and offers as much design flexibility as one can have. If it were me I'd take that software money and put it into bigger trees.

[r schipul]

If you're looking to do a plan for your own property, I wouldn't waste my time with purchasing and more importantly learning a program. You can get the same or better results with paper and pencil in a lot less time. Especially for under $100'. Put that money into more plants.

[dan deutekom]

If you go to the local Office Depot store there are lot's of programs that do landscape design and if you look in the bargain bins at the local department stores there are always cheap landscape design programs. The problem is you get what you pay for; the learning curve just isn't worth the time for one house and the programs just arn't good enough for professional use. Buy yourself some large sheets of graph paper, a french curve, eraser, pencils, architects scale and start designing. The cheap programs will do nothing but frustrate you and the money you save can be used on the landscaping.

[pondman300]

There are alot of landscape programs out there that are great for the homeowner that do not require a master degree in computers to understand how to operate. I personally use one in lab top in my truck. Most do require that you have a digital camera or some basic measurement of your home a good one while an older program but works great is the master landscape edition you can probably pick it up now for about 30.00 - 40.00 bucks and it works good in my opinion if you need anymore help you can email me at inquires@midweslandscpe.com

Hope I helped. Robert.