Computer programs for landscape design. Programs for site planning

Every business owner wants to see his land holdings well-maintained, beautiful, and pleasing to the eye. He hatches ideas to implement them in any free time. Some turn to the Internet, wander through its pages for a long time in search of the most suitable landscape design option and... It is impossible to consider all the options, but here we will offer the easiest free editors for beginner designers, as well as quite complex software materials for specialist designers.

An example of a program interface for creating landscape design

Usually, before the design begins, the garden plot already contains the necessary set of elements: trees, bushes, hills. When they are boring in their natural form and do not suit the owner, then they can be easily changed and given a comfortable appearance. If this is still flat, bare land, and the owner wants to have a luxurious garden, then he will have to fork out money to purchase the necessary components, and start developing a landscape project from a blank page.

With their mastery, an inexperienced landscape designer should begin developing a design with his own hands. These editors, as a rule, are Russified and contain video materials containing lessons.

Users are invited to download for beginners, the development of which does not require special skills. However, it is not so easy to compare programs in terms of complexity and the range of functions provided online.

It is better to evaluate them taking into account your own financial capabilities and the time required to develop them. Purchasing a pirated version may result in without considering the results in the 3D version, and moreover, it does not always guarantee trouble-free use.

If the owner of the estate has a great desire to create a wonderful garden with his own hands, then he should consider and download the “Landscape Art” materials for designing projects, offered to inexperienced designers. Or buy a set of disks containing programs in this series, which are freely sold on the market in Russian.

Google SketchUp program interface for designing landscape design on a site

They will help the novice designer in developing the following elements:

lawns, flower beds;
reservoirs, fountains;
paved paths;
stone decor in the garden.

Professional packages

They are not distributed free of charge, and, as a rule:

expensive;
for studying is labor intensive; difficult to use;
have options.

However, among them there are programs that are easy to learn. It would be a good idea to read the training manual before using them. Their language is usually English or Russian, or both.

Our Garden 10_4 Crystal

Professionals call this software in Russian for creating landscapes an encyclopedia. It consists of a set of programs with a simple interface and ease of management. No prior training is required; it is readily used by landscape design masters to carry out orders from their clients and demonstrate completed projects in 3D.

An example of landscape design development in the Our Garden program

Provides the following DIY design capabilities:

change the terrain of the site;
place lawns, fences, paths, plants, ponds;
see what the plot and garden will look like after a few years;
view the final result in 3D format.

Software Contents

For professional work, the program includes the following editors:

curbs;
fences;
relief;
stairs;
paving;
structures;
ground cover plants;
3D view;
changing photos.

In addition, there is a calculator with the help of which a working version of the estimate is developed in order to set a price for each object of the plan and show the client the geometric parameters of its calculation, such as units of length, area, etc. The creation of catalogs of price indicators, as well as their updating, is done manually. And a summary table of the cost of the entire project is calculated automatically. The name of each editor reveals its purpose. Together they cover the variety of designs used in landscape design.

Various elements for landscape design

They allow you to demonstrate created projects, show how shadows, the color of leaves, and lawns change at a specific time of day, month, or season. Even snow cover can be displayed on all design elements. The software's arsenal includes information on more than 7 thousand ornamental plants with photographs and detailed descriptions. It can be downloaded to your computer.

Trees, flowers, shrubs that will fill the designed garden are filtered during selection according to parameters such as size, soil for planting, time of flowering and replanting, life span, as well as many other characteristics.

The program includes an encyclopedia containing all kinds of plant diseases and pests. It also allows them to be identified by specific characteristics and suggests ways to prevent the harm they cause.

There are also free tables of agrotechnical regimes for caring for flora, as well as for controlling weeds, which will definitely visit a landscaped garden. Such a rich arsenal of software functions should not scare off a novice designer, because they are not difficult to understand, especially if the user is obsessed with the idea of designing his site in the highest class.

Landscape design is a unique art based on the artistic design and improvement of recreation areas, personal plots using landscaping, garden and park architectural forms. Following the rules of landscape design, you can improve almost any piece of land, creating a harmony of landscape combination of nature with urbanized macroforms. The solution to this problem is helped by programs offered on the Internet, both for professional design and for amateur ones by the hands of their owners.

An example of landscape design in the Our Garden program

Graphic editors for non-professionals are easy to learn and use and are usually distributed free of charge. Every user can work with them. And for designers who carry out customer orders, complex software is sold on disks. It is impossible to download it from the Internet to use in your work without paying.

Residential buildings, utility and other buildings are the dominant objects in the spatial structure of the landscape ensemble. All other components are located around them. As a rule, they include advice on the location of the following elements in the designed area:

Trial versions of some programs can be used online or downloaded for free to your computer. They usually offer the user theoretical lessons with pictures or videos. However, to get full results, it is recommended to purchase the full version of the software.

Programs for developing landscape design

Let's look at the most popular graphic editors, which are offered free of charge in Russian to everyone who wants to improve the landscape with their own hands.

An example of the layout of a summer cottage in the Our Garden program

Their development is simple and does not require special computer knowledge. They contain standard libraries that help the user quickly and easily create 2D or 3D design instances.

Many amateur programs provide the opportunity to develop design projects from scratch, as they say, from a blank page onto which images of selected real objects are sequentially loaded.

Then they are adjusted, moved, rotated, placed so as to achieve unity and harmony of the landscape ensemble.
But sometimes someone who decides to download a program for registering a plot of land on their own already has a house, outbuildings and wants everything around them to look arranged in accordance with his taste and aspirations.

Google SketchUp

This program is for amateurs and professionals. They will not have to draw all the landscape objects themselves. The database is full of stylistic solutions for various types of buildings and plants, and if any design element is missing, then the user can create it manually. If the need arises to remove any item, you will not have to redo the entire project again; you just need to cancel the last action.

An example of a landscape design developed in Google SketchUp

The program allows not only design modeling, but also work in the field of architecture, interior decoration, and engineering design. Contains many useful tips. Imports files with landscape objects from other software editors, places them in your project and gives them a 3D look.

Contains tools to do the following:

drawing, performing geometric design;
adjusting objects by scaling them;
measuring parts with great accuracy;
adding ready-made components to the model;
presentation of completed projects, their printing.

Artweaver Free

To develop a landscape project for a site, you can use not only special software products, but also a graphic editor such as Photoshop. It has very rich functionality with a huge set of graphical tools. However, you can only get it for money, and it is expensive.

Designers use analogues of Photoshop, one of which is Artweaver Free. It can be freely downloaded from the Internet without paying a cent.

It is quite simple to use, but first you need to prepare background information on the size of buildings, green spaces, paths, lawns, and small forms of landscape areas. Only after this can they be placed on the sheet of the planned territory, starting from the entrance to the courtyard and the central building.
Software development is usually found in German or English.

But if you dig through the pages of the World Wide Web, you can find and download the latest versions with localizations. The efforts will be justified by a high-quality creative result in developing the desired design project.

X-Designer

The developers called this program, with the help of which you can simulate the landscape in three-dimensional form. By designing from a blank page, you can choose the optimal location of all buildings, lawns, gazebos, fruit and ornamental crops, paths and ponds. The program library has a wide range of plants and other design objects necessary for the project. Once placed on the site, they can be actively adjusted according to four parameters:

texture;
size;
color;
mutual position.

A bright roof - everything is in its place and pleasing to the eye, except for one thing: the surrounding area after construction is uncomfortable and unkempt. How to lay out a lawn, lay paths, plant a garden and put up a gazebo? Everything should be in harmony with each other and represent a single ensemble. Hiring a designer is not always possible for financial reasons. And then the Landscape Design program comes to the rescue. With its help, almost any personal computer user can simulate a future garden plot.

General characteristics

To be more precise, such software is provided by several companies. All of them developed versions for professionals, but the popularity of the process of designing areas adjacent to the house prompted the manufacturers with the idea of producing the “Landscape Design for Amateurs” series. For the average PC user, this solution is just a godsend. But out of all the programs, you need to choose one, one that will help transform your own yard.

There are several common characteristics that every hobbyist software has. The user, as a rule, is given the technical ability to create projects from scratch or upload real photographs. The last function is very convenient, since the question of arranging the territory most often arises after the construction of a house, and the land may be occupied by some kind of green space. Each landscape design program involves adding snapshot files with real images to the functionality and then adding objects: plants, shrubs, trees, ponds, paths and much more. As a result, the user sees a picture that is as close as possible to future reality.

A clean project is an opportunity not only to arrange lanterns and flower pots in an artistic manner, but also to shape the terrain. To do this, places of elevation or depression are initially outlined on the plan, then large objects are added. Only after this are the remaining details built in: fences, enclosures, ponds or lakes.

Almost every creation program has functions for viewing the finished project in a two-dimensional image, as well as in 3D. A three-dimensional image makes it possible to see in more detail all the shortcomings of the project, correct them and print the finished design plan from any angle.

Free Landscaping Software

The question of whether to buy software or download it from the Internet faces most users. How does a free landscape design program differ in functionality and ease of interface from paid versions? It is not so easy to understand the mass of proposals, but it is quite possible.

Considering a number of free ones, it’s worth starting with Google SkethUp. A beginner in landscape design will be able to easily understand the intentions of the developers. 3D visualization, a rich database of templates, a toolbar for drawing missing parts - these are the main characteristics of this software. Let us note the only drawback: for an amateur user, the English-language interface may be difficult.

The next tool worthy of attention is Sierra Land Designer 3D. This program is ideal for beginners. Landscape design is a fun task with simple solutions. A special feature of Sierra Land Designer 3D is the ability to set different weather conditions.

The next free landscape design program that has received our attention is Artweaver Free. A powerful tool with a rich set of functionality. The mention that this software is provided by the manufacturer Photoshop already arouses interest in this development. The following features are standard in this graphic editor:

customize brushes;
work with text;
embed various filters;
imitate drawing tools: pastel;
select selection options;
save the result in all known graphic formats.

X-Designer creates worthy competition among free software products that allow you to visualize the landscape of a future site. The graphic editor has an interesting feature. In the program, you can not only imagine the site during rain, but also see how the future gazebo will look in this place at night. That is, the user can set the time of day. It is worth noting the rich library of plant and building templates. And one more nice and convenient point: X-Designer has a shadow function. This tool saves a lot of money. That is, plants can be initially selected for such characteristics as shade tolerance and light-loving properties.

Russian software products

The most famous graphic editor in this area is Our Garden Rubin. This is not a free program. Landscape design with its help is carried out by both professionals and amateurs. The latest version from the manufacturer JSC Dicomp is “Our Garden Rubin 10.0”. It is worth dwelling on this in more detail. And the explanation for this is more than simple: the program has a Russian-language interface, which is a big plus for the user.

Installation and launch

The system requirements for the user's computer are quite affordable, which once again emphasizes: the 3D landscape design program allows everyone to do it - both amateurs and professionals.

The installation includes standard agreement to the terms of the license agreement and offers one of two sets of features. The first one is recommended. When choosing the second option, the user can mark in the checkboxes the functions he needs only. The complete set looks like this:

textbook;
examples;
references, guides, topics;
additional pictures;
3D models of plants.

Is it worth saying that it is better for a novice designer to agree with the recommended installation kit?

Interface

You are interested in The program installed on your PC should be carefully studied. The central place is occupied by the field of the future plan. The top toolbar contains the following menu items: “file”, “edit”, “place”, “plant”, “view”, etc. The interface is very similar to the main page of regular Word. And yet this is the Landscape Design program. This is evidenced by its sidebar, which pops up and changes depending on the tasks being performed. So, by selecting the “plants” menu item, the user will see in the sidebar not only templates of shrubs, flowers, trees, but also a section with an encyclopedia. It tells in detail about each type of plant, its care, and provides tips on how, what and where to plant.

Features, competitive advantages and disadvantages of the software

The advantages include the following:

“Our Garden Rubin” is software developed for the mass consumer who does not have specialized knowledge and skills in landscape design.
Russian-language interface.
Encyclopedia of plants.

But, of course, there are also disadvantages. The most significant of these is the quality of 3D rendering and textures.

Professional program “Landscape Design”, or Continuing a hobby

If you are fascinated by the transformation of the site and have a desire to deepen your knowledge and skills, then all the programs discussed above will no longer be suitable. There are more serious tools for professionals. And here are a few of them.

Realtime Landscaping Architect

Those who want to master professional skills in computer landscape design can download a trial version of the program on the official website completely free of charge. By installing the demo version, the user will be able to evaluate its advantages over free analogues.

Designing in Realtime Landscaping Architect involves not only the conditional drawing of various objects on the design plan, but also the following:

high-quality 3D image;
calculation of estimates;
viewing the finished project from a bird's eye view;
use of a library containing about 13,000 objects;
design based on example layouts, of which there are up to five and a half thousand in the program menu.

Conclusion

At the first stage of creativity, the Landscape Design program with a Russian-language interface, a limited set of functions, and simple settings is most suitable for a beginner. The biggest disadvantage of such graphic editors is the low quality of 3D visualization. Only after successfully mastering amateur software should you think about professional paid programs for landscape design.

When a person has a dacha or just a plot of land, he is faced with the important question of how to properly manage the territory. You shouldn’t dig up everything, build, mark out everything at once. It’s better to start by reading the relevant literature and asking experienced gardeners for advice. When designing, you will need to take into account many different nuances, for example, how to correlate the site with the cardinal points (this is necessary in order to correctly position all future buildings). Generally, The planning process is a rather complex and costly process.

You will need to delimit a space for buildings, a recreation area, and a parking lot. All this is decided before the house is built. The fact is that from the first days you will need somewhere to sleep, relax, and have lunch. You can first build a temporary shed, and later move it to the utility block.

In general, there is a lot of work to be done. It is important not to make a mistake anywhere and plan everything in advance. Landscape design programs will help you with this. On the Internet you can find a huge number of ready-made layout options, but how nice it is to create and implement your own project based on your preferences and tastes.

Today there is more than a hundred different landscape editors that offer different functionality. It can be quite difficult to figure out which program is best suited. We will help you with this.

How to choose

First you need to determine your level of preparedness. For example, if you are not particularly good with technology and have only mastered basic computer knowledge, then it is better to give preference to simple home programs.

You will be required just enter the parameters of your land plot and choose from ready-made models presented in the database (there are quite a lot of projects, there will be plenty to choose from).

But, if you are serious, you need to create a drawing or layout with your own hands, then you will need a graphic editor with extensive functionality. Unfortunately, utilities for detailed model creation are not officially distributed free of charge. To work, you will have to purchase a licensed product (download a pirated version) offered by the developer.

Five best programs for home use

The advantage of home editors is that they have a very simple and understandable interface for everyone, they are distributed free of charge, allowing almost everyone to create their own site layout and change already available projects to suit their needs. This is really convenient; sometimes it is very difficult to understand what an idea will look like when implemented in life. We'll tell you about the five most convenient and functional landscape design programs.

X-Designer – garden plot planning

This is perhaps one of the simplest programs for designing landscape design. It does not require the user to have any knowledge or skills in operation. It's very easy to understand.

The program is easy to download and install (we downloaded), but the utility can be easily found using a search engine).

It’s not difficult to figure it out, it will take the average user no more than 10-15 minutes. First, you just need to enter the type of your plot, indicate its dimensions, set the date and other parameters. For example, let’s call our plot “my plot” and choose dimensions 60x80. Next, select the month, date and time of day.

Then all that remains is to fully plan the structure and select decorations from the library (quite a large selection of models). As an example, let’s take our site and display a house (the dimensions of each object can be changed, for example, specify the slope, dimensions, etc.).

Each plant is accompanied by a voluminous card, which describes how to care for, water and its characteristics. You can also monitor in real time the changes in the flower bed in the coming years, taking into account the characteristics of the growth and development of the selected landscaping.

The program is convenient in its simplicity. Like X-Designer, it is very easy to understand (it will take no more than 20 minutes to learn the basics and get into the process). You can download it using a search engine (we took the program).

After opening, you will need to choose whether to create a new design, open a plan from a computer, or edit a template design.

A new design means planning a project from scratch. For example, let's create a small area measuring 5x10.

Next, we will build a house, the same as in the previous program. Let's place a tree lantern and a bench. It will look something like this:

It is much easier to change an already prepared plan than to create a completely new one. However, your own design will help take into account all the details of the site and your wishes.

As in the previous program, here is presented a huge selection of objects and tools for working with the site. All of them are divided into categories to make it easier for the user to find the right model.

Tools are needed to create a site. With their help, you can mark out the territory and create the necessary areas. A distinctive feature of the program is its simplicity, it is easy to learn and it makes it possible to schematically evaluate the layout of your site.

SketchUp

Functional utility for creating projects. It allows you to develop a full-scale landscape design and carry out preliminary preparation and territory planning.

There are two versions of the software - free and paid. The first is suitable for home use, allowing the user to take advantage of all the necessary functions. The second is needed for commercial purposes of companies and ordinary designers.

The easiest way to download the program is through a torrent client or the official website (you will be provided with a temporary free license).

One of the most significant advantages of the utility is its collaboration with third-party Google products. For example, the service allows you to automatically exchange data with Google Earth. This is truly convenient, because you don’t need to create a three-dimensional model of the site manually, but you can simply take a ready-made one from the globe, which will fully correspond to the real parameters. This material is easier to work with.

However the average user will find it difficult to cope with this program. It is complex, because it allows you to work out each element in detail. SketchUp is more suitable for experienced designers; if you need such a detailed design, then it is better to turn to a professional.

Our Garden Rubin 9.0

This program is a kind of Russian version of Sierra (an excellent design program, but it is not translated into Russian). All the possibilities are similar, and the implementation methods are similar. The program is divided into several blocks, each of which is designed to solve a specific problem. If you use the entire range of functions at once, you can get a completely finished landscape design project for the territory.

One of the main advantages of the utility is that the interface is translated into Russian. It is distributed free of charge, which means it does not offer huge functions and is designed for the average user.

Yet again, the program is good because of its simplicity. An ordinary summer resident does not need complex and detailed plans, and he is unlikely to be able to create something similar on his own (it is better to contact a designer).

The program is quite simple, so even an inexperienced user can handle it (about 10-15 minutes is enough). When launched, the main screen opens with a ready-made site template.

Let's create a new plan. The program provides a large selection of models and template options that can be changed at your discretion.

First you need to mark the territory, then install objects in place as desired. For example, let's build our house with a bench, a lantern and trees.

After creating a two-dimensional plan, you can view the result in 3D. By the way, a whole assistant is provided for caring for plants.

Our Garden 6.0 Omega

Another version from the “Our Garden” series. It allows the user to create their own projects for planning or designing areas based on a digital photo.

The main advantage is the possibility integration of the plan with regular photographs. The program provides information about 7.7 thousand plants available for work. The selection of soil, flowering time, zone, timing, etc. is also provided. With the program you can easily create your own flower garden, which will continuously please the eye.

The layout you create can be viewed in 3D at any time (saved). You can specify different times based on which the plants will change in shape and size. Large amounts of information are provided regarding the care of flower beds of various types and the fight against harmful diseases. Our Garden 6.0 Omega can be an excellent option for those who want to create a cozy place in their dacha, decorated with amazing flowers and plants.

The functionality and process of creating an object is the same as in Our Garden Rubin 9.0.

There are not only computer versions of garden design software. If you don’t want to deal with the interface of conventional utilities, then you can use online options. They are very easy to learn (simpler than all those mentioned above), but the working methods are also simplified. The bottom line is that online versions do not have even a fraction of the capabilities that full-scale programs provide. But with their help you can get a schematic sketch of the layout of the territory.

Which video lessons should I choose?

For those who don’t like to learn at random, here are training videos. The material below is the first video in a whole series of lessons. This is not to say that this is a high-quality educational material, but in general it is more detailed and lively than other lessons presented on Youtube, and can be a good help for intuitive learning.

Do you want to start landscaping your own garden? No problem! And there is no need to run to a designer, whose work is very expensive. Of course, consulting with a professional never hurts, but this is not always possible (at least for financial reasons), and in any case, first you need to figure out what you want. Moreover, it is possible that you will not need a designer, for example, if your lifelong dream is to create a cozy Japanese-style garden with your own hands.

Obviously, before going to the nursery to buy planting material, it is advisable to design a virtual model of the garden, since this will help you decide which plants and landscape structures you need and in what quantity. And here two questions immediately arise: where to get ideas for design, since few non-professionals have a taste for design, coupled with the experience of growing numerous garden plants, and how to create such a virtual project?

As for the first question, the answer can be obtained by studying various design solutions for garden design, for which you will have to turn to the relevant literature or electronic encyclopedias. The latter option is preferable due to the presence of a conveniently designed search system in such encyclopedias, which will allow you to quickly navigate.

There are two options for solving the second question. You can take paper and start creating numerous plans and drawings, which will have to be redone more than once - and it is not at all a fact that the project implemented according to one of these plans will ultimately turn out to be the embodiment of your dreams, because it is difficult to imagine in volume the creation created on the plan. Or you can use a suitable software solution for visually designing a garden - many of them are quite easy to learn and will be within the capabilities of any computer user. With their help, you can quickly create a virtual garden project (taking into account the terrain): schematically depict a house on the plan and plant trees and shrubs around it, create lawns and plant flower beds, for which you just need to drag the necessary objects from the library and place them on plan and indicate the age of the plants. And also model other elements of garden decor: connect separate garden areas with paths, install a fence, place lanterns and lamps to illuminate the area at night, build a pond, etc.

As a rule, there are two technically possible ways to create landscape projects: from scratch or based on real photographs (Fig. 1). The latter is very convenient, because for most people the question of landscape design arises only when the house and other buildings have been built a long time ago and there are already some green spaces. When using this technology, a basic photo of the house is first loaded, and then new plants and various landscape structures are introduced into it, which allows you to fit new landscape elements into existing ones. Thus, for example, you can effectively decorate the driveway to your house with plants, place containers with flowers and lanterns, etc. If the project is developed from scratch, then it begins to be built by creating the terrain, that is, forming the hills and slopes available on the site - for this it is necessary to outline raised or lowered areas on the plan and apply appropriate transformations to them. Then large objects, that is, buildings, are added to the project - the fastest way is to simply load a standard building that suits the style, but if not a single type of building suits you, you can design it yourself. After this, they move on to introducing objects such as fences, gazebos, gates, etc. into the project - usually they are taken from the built-in library, but many solutions also offer the ability to load your own elements: three-dimensional models and/or objects cut out from photographs. When finished, textures are assigned to all elements. At the next stage of working with the project, paths are laid, a pond is created, decorative structures are placed, single plants are planted, a hedge is formed, climbing plants are placed on the walls of buildings, etc. Upon completion, adjust the lighting by placing decorative lanterns along the paths, on the wall at the front door of the house, at the gate of the house, etc.

Rice. 1. An example of a landscape project created from a photograph

It is easy to view the resulting project options (there may be several of them) in two-dimensional form, and then walk through them in volumetric viewing (Fig. 2), examine them from all sides and find out which one is preferable for you. If necessary, you can subsequently make changes to the project, and the final project can be printed from the required angles. You can also create an AVI presentation to demonstrate the created project (this feature is more interesting for professionals), which is done by installing and configuring several image viewing cameras on the plan, determining the sequence of their switching and the display time of each camera.

Rice. 2. Possible two-dimensional project plan and its three-dimensional representation

In addition to viewing the project at the current moment, it is usually possible to see the garden model after some time (Fig. 3): in a year, two, ten, etc. - this will help to understand whether the plants are located correctly, taking into account their characteristic growth force. Less often, it is possible to view the garden at different times of the year (Fig. 4), which will allow one to assess the level of attractiveness of the plantings not only in summer, but also in other periods. It is also worth noting that a number of visualization solutions provide for the display of shadows, thanks to which it is easy to adjust plantings taking into account their light-loving/shade-tolerant nature. These viewing options are very relevant for non-professionals, since they may not have such information (that is, data on the degree of growth of plants, their decorativeness in different periods and the level of light/shade tolerance). All this allows you to relatively quickly get a fairly professional (in terms of taking into account the biological characteristics of plants) landscape project without turning to specialists.

Rice. 3. View of the landscape over time

Rice. 4. View of the landscape at different times of the year

Landscape design CDs

The list of similar solutions offered on the market is more than impressive, but we will focus only on a few of the most interesting ones. In our opinion, aspiring landscape designers should familiarize themselves with the Landscape Art series encyclopedias, which cover all the basic aspects of landscape design and contain comprehensive and beautifully illustrated materials. We also found the “Advice from Professionals” CDs very useful. Landscape design" and "Landscape design. Styles and directions". The first is interesting in terms of studying various options for designing a summer cottage, taking into account minimizing material costs and one’s own efforts, and the second highlights the basic principles and trends in garden design and provides many original style design ideas that will interest keen gardeners.

Series "Landscape Art"

Developer: Landscape art

Price: 119 rub. for one disc

Currently, six discs have been released in the series: “Landscape Art. Lawns. Landings. Flower beds”, “Landscape art. Ponds in the garden”, “Landscape art. Practical advice. Water in the garden" (Fig. 5), "Landscape art. Paving. Stairs. Retaining walls", "Landscape art. Practical advice. Paving. Stairs. Retaining walls" (Fig. 6) and "Landscape art. Practical advice. Stone in the garden" (Fig. 7). These discs describe in an accessible and concise form the technologies for creating lawns, planting plants and arranging flower beds, discuss different types of paving, build stairs and retaining walls, and provide detailed color diagrams of such structures. The technologies for constructing reservoirs and their design are covered, and it is described how to care for a reservoir (including the fish and plants living in it) at different times of the year. It also talks about the variety of stones and their use in landscape design. All theoretical material is accompanied by numerous illustrations that may be useful when designing and creating your own garden.

Rice. 5. An example of a pond in the garden (“Landscape art.
Practical advice. Water in the garden")

Rice. 6. Photo gallery with examples of garden paths
(software "Landscape art. Practical advice. Paving. Stairs.
Retaining walls")

Rice. 7. An example of using stones in group plantings
(PO "Landscape art. Practical advice. Stone in the garden")

Developer: VIEM

Price: 249 rub.

This CD highlights a variety of design projects and finds, designed with the idea that all the work can be done alone. Various aspects of the design of a summer cottage are considered here: the construction of spectacular ridges, the creation of hedges, front gardens and borders (Fig. 8), the arrangement of garden paths, the construction of stairs, benches, fountains and walkways, the use of supports, etc. Accompanying theoretical materials are detailed graphic diagrams, photo gallery and professional advice provide b O greater availability of information and will help to avoid mistakes and unnecessary costs when arranging a suburban area.

Rice. 8. Presentation of wooden front gardens and borders
(“Advice from professionals. Landscape design”)

Landscape design. Styles and directions

Developer: ID COMPANY

Price: 119 rub.

This encyclopedia covers the basic principles and trends in garden design and allows you to understand design styles - the description of styles is accompanied by colorful garden layout diagrams (Fig. 9) and useful comments. The program offers many original ideas: the laconicism of Japanese style, the charm of miniatures, monochrome graphics, a roof garden, a twilight garden, a garden with a stream, a bathhouse, a swimming pool and much more. There are even interesting solutions that allow you to combine business with pleasure: garden - vegetable garden, garden - playground, etc. As a result, the reader can choose the style design option he likes as a ready-made guide to action, or independently develop his own unique style based on existing ones.

Rice. 9. One of the garden layout options (software “Landscape Design.
Styles and directions")

Landscape design software

There are many different software products on the market designed for designing and visualizing landscape projects. However, many of them are aimed at landscape designers, that is, they are more difficult to master and are not cheap. And those solutions that are intended for non-professionals, for the most part, leave much to be desired. At the same time, in both groups of software it is still possible to identify programs that are of interest to home users and provide them with all the necessary tools for landscape design. We settled on Realtime Landscaping Plus, Our Garden 9.0 Ruby, TurboFLOORPLAN Landscape and Deck and a group of solutions from Punch! Software. All of them can be successfully used to create a landscape design for your own garden.

The most attractive, in our opinion, are the Realtime Landscaping Plus and Our Garden 9.0 Rubin programs. The first is supported by a large number of three-dimensional plant models (see table) and a well-thought-out technology of use, thanks to which it is possible to prepare a project in it faster than in other solutions. In addition, this program seemed to us the easiest to learn, which is very important for home users. But, unfortunately, it does not allow adding water objects (for example, ponds) to projects. In turn, the undeniable advantage of the “Our Garden 9.0 Rubin” program is the Russian-language interface and the presence of a very detailed and high-quality encyclopedia containing background information on plant care, diseases and pests. But it does not display shadows in three-dimensional viewing, which will undoubtedly cause problems for many amateur gardeners who are unlikely to have a good understanding of the light/shade tolerance of plants. In addition, the list of plant objects available for use in the project is noticeably smaller than in other solutions, and the program is not cheap.

As for the other utilities discussed in the article, they are less attractive. The TurboFLOORPLAN Landscape and Deck program has wide functionality and allows you to implement any landscape designs into projects, but it is quite slow and more demanding of system resources. As for Punch! Software, then the greatest opportunities in terms of landscape design are presented in the Punch Master Landscape and Home Design program, but it is also inferior in functionality to the listed solutions from other developers.

Realtime Landscaping Plus 4

Developer: Idea Spectrum

3 GB

Work under control: Windows XP/Vista

Distribution method: shareware (functionally limited demo version - http://www.ideaspectrum.net/demos/plus/plus203.exe)

Price:$79.95

Realtime Landscaping Plus is one of the best solutions for designing and visualizing landscape projects (Fig. 10), which is perfect for both landscape designers and non-professionals. Its main module is the built-in scheduler; additional modules include the Realtime Landscaping Photo editor and the Realtime Picture Editor.

Rice. 10. Example of a project created in Realtime Landscaping Plus

Projects are created from scratch or based on real photographs (Fig. 11) - in both cases this can be done not only manually, but also using built-in wizards, which greatly simplifies the task. For example, when creating a project from scratch by a landscape master (Fig. 12), the user only needs to specify the size of the plot, select the style of the house and fence, and determine the location of the house relative to the fence on the plan - the result will be an editable standard garden project with a house, patio, fence and driveway to the house. As a result, you only need to manually modify the terrain and introduce plants and decorative elements. If the conceived project does not belong to the standard building plans, for example, it has fragments of walls of a curvilinear shape, then you will have to create the corresponding elements manually - this is also not difficult (since they are formed from editable basic objects: frames of walls with a roof, doors and windows), but it will require time. After this, if necessary, textures made from real photographs can be applied to the walls, gables and basement of the house - this will ensure a O greater credibility. Then a fence with a gate is installed and individual areas are paving; retaining walls, hedges, small architectural forms, lanterns adjustable in height, size and color of light rays, as well as single stones, borders made from them and plants taking into account their age can be added. Plants can be of two types: 3D models and 2D images cut out from photographs. The latter are correctly implemented into the project, automatically rotating when the scene view angle changes, and look more realistic than the models, but the latter, when viewed in 3D, fluctuate under the influence of the wind, which, of course, is not important for the result, but looks very impressive. All implemented objects are configured. By default, a shortened list of parameters opens for any of them (this is convenient for amateurs), but there is also an extended list that provides finer settings (Fig. 13). It is possible to create custom vegetation and save it in the database for future use. A toolkit for importing 3D models has been implemented, and to simplify this process (since many non-professionals simply have no idea where such models can be found), models can be downloaded from the Google 3D Warehouse free model database. But it will not be possible to add water features to the project (fountains, waterfalls, streams, ponds, swimming pools, ponds, etc.) - their implementation is not provided for in this solution.

Rice. 11. Creating a project based on a photograph in Realtime Landscaping Plus

Rice. 12. Creating a project using the landscape wizard
in Realtime Landscaping Plus

Rice. 13. Editing advanced hammock settings
in Realtime Landscaping Plus

The created plan can be viewed in perspective projection and as a three-dimensional image with quite realistic lighting and shadows. When viewing, plant objects (if these are 3D models) will sway under the influence of the wind, and birds or butterflies will sometimes fly through the air. You can see a three-dimensional landscape during the day and at night, and also after a specified number of years. When viewing, you can take screenshots - they are saved in BMP files and can then be printed. The project plan is also printed and it is easy to create an AVI presentation from it. There is an estimate function that can be printed and exported to a text file.

Our Garden 9.0 Ruby (Garden Composer)

Developer: JSC DiComp

Required amount of free hard disk space: 4 GB

Work under control: Windows XP/Vista

Distribution method: comercialware (demo version not available)

Price: 3800 rub.

The Our Garden 9.0 Rubin program is a solution for designing and visualizing landscape projects (Fig. 14), which is intended for both professional landscape designers and amateurs. It includes a built-in planner, a photo editor (allows you to work with a digital photograph of an object) and a resource editor (provides the ability to add 3D models and textures to the database). As well as an extensive illustrated encyclopedia containing detailed information about more than 15 thousand plants, including their diseases and pests (Fig. 15), which increases the attractiveness of this solution for non-professionals.

Rice. 14. An example of a project created in the program “Our Garden 9.0 Rubin”

Rice. 15. Encyclopedia page built into the “Our Garden 9.0 Rubin” program

Projects can be created based on real photographs or from a blank sheet of paper (Fig. 16) - in the latter case, it is possible to use a drawing made by hand on paper as a substrate (it will first have to be scanned), which somewhat reduces design time. When creating projects from scratch, the terrain is taken into account. Adding buildings to the project is carried out with the help of a wizard - you can limit yourself to simple standard buildings or build from them, like from children's cubes, an object of the required type. For b O For added verisimilitude, it is possible to overlay the house with textures made from real photographs. The necessary shapes of fences, stairs and retaining walls are also created with the help of craftsmen (Fig. 17), and the paving of individual zones is formed in the same way. Small architectural forms and plants (including trimmed ones) are added from the library; it is possible to trim plants according to your own stencil with the help of a master. When planting plants, their age is taken into account. It is allowed to use your own objects in the project, obtained by extracting them from photographs or scanned illustrations. It is possible to lay paths along complex curvilinear trajectories, as well as construct complex-shaped flower beds, ponds, etc. To texture objects, textures from the library or arbitrary texture images available in the user’s collection are used. Tools are provided for lighting the garden with lamps and lanterns of different power and height.

Rice. 16. Creating a project from scratch in the program “Our Garden 9.0 Rubin”

Rice. 17. Adjustment of parameters of stairs, fences and cropped forms
in the program “Our Garden 9.0 Rubin”

The created plan is viewed as a three-dimensional image, but without displaying shadows (during the day and night, in any month of the year and after a specified number of years) and can be printed and sent to a specific email address. For a finished project, it’s easy to create and print an estimate, as well as create an AVI presentation.

TurboFLOORPLAN Landscape and Deck 12

Developer: IMSI/Design

Required amount of free hard disk space: 750 MB

Work under control: Windows 2000(SP4)/XP(SP2)/Vista

Distribution method: shareware (15-day demo - http://www.imsidesign.com/Products/FreeTrials/tabid/437/Default.aspx)

Price:$39.95

TurboFLOORPLAN Landscape and Deck is a solution for the design and visualization of landscape projects (Fig. 18), aimed by developers at a wide audience. Includes a landscape project planner and an extensive illustrated encyclopedia containing brief information about more than 7.5 thousand plants and the rules for caring for them (Fig. 19), as well as background information on the main diseases and pests of garden crops. This solution has basic functionality for this type of application and allows you to create projects taking into account the terrain and the size of buildings and landscape structures, but it cannot be considered fast. In addition, many operations in it, in our opinion, are not implemented in the best way (you have to repeatedly click on buttons and open various windows), and there are no wizards provided - as a result, you will have to spend more time on mastering it, and the development of the project will be longer.

Rice. 18. Example of a project created in TurboFLOORPLAN Landscape and Deck

Rice. 19. Encyclopedia page built into the program
TurboFLOORPLAN Landscape and Deck

Projects are created from scratch (Fig. 20); it is possible to install scanned paper drawings as a backing. Work on the project begins with the formation of the relief. After this, buildings are added by choosing one of the standard house options or creating it manually - in this case, you will have to determine the contours of the foundation, build walls and create a roof (all this taking into account the length and height of the corresponding objects), and then build in windows and doors. Upon completion, all elements of the buildings are textured; it is possible to apply textures made from real photographs to the house. At the next stage, they begin the landscape design itself - paving and laying paths, constructing retaining walls for plant areas, planting plants in them and placing other elements: a terrace with stairs, a fence with a gate, small architectural forms, a swimming pool, a pond or a fountain, and also various kinds of lanterns and lamps (Fig. 21). When introducing plants, their age is taken into account. Embedded objects can be of two types: 3D models and two-dimensional images cut out from photographs, which can be taken not only from the built-in library, but also imported.

Rice. 20. Creating a project from scratch

Rice. 21. Adjusting the parameters of the retaining wall and lantern
in TurboFLOORPLAN Landscape and Deck

The created plan is viewed in a perspective projection, from any of the installed cameras, or as a three-dimensional image with realistic lighting and shadows - in the latter case, various visualization options are possible, including visualization with global illumination calculation. It is possible to view the landscape during the day and at night, in different months (including the country), as well as after a specified number of years. There is functionality for printing a project plan and generating an AVI presentation based on it. It is possible to draw up an estimate - it is easy to print and export to a text file.

Solutions from Punch! Software

Developer: Punch! Software

Required amount of free hard disk space: from 540 to 700 MB

Work under control: Windows (all versions)

Waydistribution: Punch Master Landscape and Home Design and 3D Home Architect Landscape Design Deluxe - comercialware (no demo versions); Punch! Super Home Suite - shareware (15-day demo version for 100 launches - ftp:// [email protected]/SuperDemoSetup.exe)

Price: Punch Master Landscape and Home Design 10 and Punch! Super Home Suite 3.5 - $49.99; 3D Home Architect Landscape Design Deluxe 9 - $39.99

Software solutions from Punch! exist in several modifications: the 3D Home Architect Landscape Design Deluxe 9, Punch Master Landscape and Home Design 10 and Punch! programs are aimed at a wide range of users. Super Home Suite 3.5. All of them belong to solutions designed for landscape design and have a similar interface. These programs allow you to develop the exterior of a house and (using the same 3D Landscape Design module) its landscape design (Fig. 22). As for the differences between the two, Punch! Super Home Suite also allows you to simulate the interior of a house, and Punch Master Landscape and Home Design has expanded tools for landscape work (more types of objects available and there is a Plantfinder module that ensures effective selection of the desired vegetation in the database - Fig. 23) and supports PhotoView technology, which allows create projects based on real photographs.

Rice. 22. Example of a project created in Punch Master Landscape and Home Design

Rice. 23. Vegetation selection options via Plantfinder

The creation of a project (Fig. 24) in all of the above solutions begins with the formation of the relief by drawing topographic curves or by loading a real topographic plan of the area. Then the walls are erected - either on the basis of one of the standard layout options, or manually, designing each of the walls separately (the length, thickness and height of the walls are easily adjusted, and their alignment is done automatically). After this, windows, doors and a roof are added to the house under construction, choosing the necessary elements from standard options, and, if necessary, an open veranda or patio is added to the house. If a real house has already been built, then you don’t have to create it, but immediately implement the corresponding photograph into the project (only in Punch Master Landscape and Home Design). Then they start landscape design - create paths, fences, mini-fences and supporting walls, form paved areas, etc., and then decorate all objects with textures from the library. You can also build mini-reservoirs, although there is no special tool for this purpose - the same Fill tool is used as for paving, but when texturing the reservoir, the texture of the water is set. At the last stage, flower beds are created and plants are planted - the age of any plant object can be indicated and the degree of light and moisture-loving properties of the object can be specified.

Rice. 24. Create a project from scratch in Punch! Super Home Suite

The created projects are viewed in two- and three-dimensional representation (in perspective and orthographic projection), you can also see what the landscape will look like in a few years. To make the project more natural during visualization, it is easy to adjust the lighting by determining the position of the sun and the intensity of its glow, and add shadows. The finished project is printed, its two-dimensional plan can be saved in a DXF file, and a three-dimensional representation of the project can be exported to a graphic file. There is also an automatic calculation of costs for the acquisition of materials necessary for the implementation of the project, the formation of an estimate and its printing.

On sale you can find the Russian-language edition of the 3D Home Architect Landscape Design Deluxe 9 program - “3D modeling: landscape design” (publisher “Russobit-M” http://www.russobit-m.ru/catalogue/item/3d_home_architect_landscape_design/), offered at a price of 207 rubles.