Manage updates with the Download AppCNET Editors' review
Despite a few omissions, this program still stands as a handy tool for anyone who plans a garden or landscape from the ground up. The bright, welcoming interface is a snap to understand, and, though you won't find a step-by-step wizard, the animated introduction quickly brings you up to speed.Operating the program is equally painless. You simply drag and drop shrubs, trees, flowers, buildings, paving, and ponds into a large grid and lay them out as you like. You can change the foliage color and zoom in or out on your garden. However, we wish the program included several templates for houses so you could spatially arrange the garden around it. We also would like the developer to give us a few sample garden layouts.
Still, we think Garden Planner can be useful for a number of folks, whether they're new home owners, landscape architects, or just gardening enthusiasts.
Publisher's Description
From Artifact Interactive:
Design your dream garden. Arrange plants, trees, buildings and objects using an easy- to- use drag and- drop interface. Use simple tools to crate paths, fences and paving. Then produce a high quality color print out or image of your design. A quick way to produce a professional garden plan.
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All versions:
2.5 starsout of 23 votes
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Current version:
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My rating:
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"A lot of junk comes with the software"
Version: Garden Planner 2.4
Pros
don't know
Cons
Some Mix J?? Browser toolbar comes with the software and completely changes default browser page, installs Browser protector junk software and changes your browser search engine ... This kind of behavior really drives me mad and the only thing I did was uninstall...
Summary
Comes with a lot of junk software (Garder planner itself might be good but never want to install it again)
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"Decent for home users ; not capable of heavy lifting"
Version: Garden Planner 3.0.0.48
Pros
Reasonably simple to use
Cons
Can't quite do enough for more than basic landscape design
Summary
This is a fine program for home users who want to fiddle around with landscaping ideas for their yards. However, it doesn't have enough bells and whistles to handle more serious efforts. For larger scale--up to and including professional--design efforts (larger scale either in terms of greater number of details within a small unit of land or in terms of larger area of land being designed), I recommend Realtime Landscape Architect.
One thing I forgot to mention is that this program was developed in Australia and assumes garden styles and plant species that are typical of that climate. For someone like myself in New England (USA), using it involves a bit of compromise and work-around for those reasons.
Updated on Apr 10, 2012 -
"Very disappointing"
Version: Garden Planner 3.0.0.45
Pros
It's simple. Some things, like distance computation, are handy, but they are far overshadowed by the negatives. Fortunately the lesson on poor design software didn't cost much.
Cons
Not intuitive at all. Just drawing a straight line proved to be a challenge - couldn't terminate the line without it disappearing.
Summary
Don't bother with this software. And certainly don't pay for it.
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"Does the job of a garden design program"
Version: Garden Planner 3.0.0.38
Pros
The reports are cool! Copy and paste, click and drag, scroll... if you can envision your garden and can use a design program, this is pretty simple.
Cons
Too much clicking; it is a little bulky. Could use far more garden add-ons/items, but admittedly, it has far more than the other programs I saw.
Summary
Does the job.
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"Fun but buggy on big projects"
Version: Garden Planner 2.5.0.6
Pros
Extremely easy to use. It has an interesting selection of objects, including horses, hen houses, ponds and a variety of lawns/ground covers.
Cons
Large project layouts are difficult (zoom out is limited to 10%, so you can't see large projects without scrolling) to impossible (objects, such as ground covers, simply won't stick on larger projects - they vanish when you position them).
Summary
It's cheap, fun and fine for smaller projects. They need a larger selection of buildings. "Square" and "Rectangle" don't really cut it. Also, all layouts/ground covers are limited to 90 degree angles. If your yard isn't a perfect square/rectangle, you'll be winging it.
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"Simply program"
Version: Garden Planner 2.5.0.6
Pros
Easy to create
Cons
not enough plants and options
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"Ditto Worthless above."
Version: Garden Planner 2.5
Pros
Well, the d/l was a trial version, so price was right...until I decided I'd wasted - totally - the past 2+ hours. (Trying to think of any more pros....guess I can't.)
Cons
Couldn't print the whole plan on a page - couldn't scale the output. Trying to copy an entry (re-sized tree, for example, with associated label got me the default - original - entry which needed re-sizing all over again. Very not-user-friendly.
Summary
I'm still looking for a garden planner... (Oh, the warning that there is to be a watermark over the printed output - this being a trial version and all - is laughable.) I could never print a page that had the whole basic plan I'd created...all I got was the top left side on the first page...and no subsequent pages with the remainder of the plan. And the "watermark" on it (well, from my inkjet) was BOLD BLACK LETTERS "TRIAL VERSION" 3/4" high X 6" long printed diagonally across the page, with the warning, "visit www.smallblueprinter.com/garden/ to buy the full version and get rid of this ugly watermark and get unlimited use of garden planner" I think not. And I was just looking for a plain-jane 2D garden program. This is a poorly thought out program not ready for prime time.
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"Worthless!"
Version: Garden Planner 2.5
Pros
I can't find a pro.
Cons
Everything!!!!!!
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"Not that Great"
Version: Garden Planner 2.4
Pros
Is simple to use
Cons
Not very flexible, trial version is awful if you want to actually print, watermark ensures it is just a waste of paper.
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"mcuch too limited to be useful"
Version: Garden Planner 2.4
Pros
simple and easy to use
Cons
inadequate, lacks basic functionality
Summary
Don't buy- there are many much superior offering on the market
