Gardening Software Notes Thread

19 years ago

G'Day!

- i found a link to the BBC's Virtual Garden Maker over in the Cottage Gardens forum and just wanted to share it with y'all. Then i thought, can we all pool our garden software into here, in one thread?

- If anyone knows of computer garden makers they'd recomend (or other gardening software) (either in my price range, ie, free, or Santa's price range, ie, any) please post them here with:

1.) what's good about it,

2.) what's bad about it,

3.) price

4.) where one can get it.

O

- Example:

BBC Virtual Garden Maker

- The BBC has a nice (if limited) Virtual Garden Maker. It works fine online, 'though i must admit i haven't been able to "unpack" the downloadable off-line version.

- It's a FREE download. You can also use it "on-line," saving up to ten gardens which you can return to and work with. (i THINK you can invite others to come and "tour" them, too.)

- The images are great, and the 3-D tour feature is great. The catagories are good.

- Drawbacks are the limited variety of plants to select from (although it MIGHT be possible to add more, i just don't know if/how to do so) and that one can only use a VERY limited total number of objects in one's virtual garden. This would not be a problem if one did one bed at a time but i wanted to see my whole garden at once, which is acresworth.

- Does not include looking at different seasons.

- Get it at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/

O

- i have also used my The Sims game to do garden layouts.

_The Sims was about $30-- but i suspect it's cheaper now. i asume you can get it at any toy store, and know you can order it (and its expansions) online from EA Games. (Just "Search" for "The Sims".)

- Big advantages are that you can download a HUGE variety of plants (not to mention other objects) from a diverse range of online sources, with these additons being free, and that you can stuff in as many ojects as there is rom for.

- Dissadvantages are that there is no working at a small size scale (no close-ups) and that you are likely to be tempted to actually play the game! (i know i don't have that kind of time except in the winter!) The same applies with using The Sims as an arcitecture toy. (Got a spouse or other children in the house? You may find your access to The Sims is limited to when you can tear them away from it!)

- While there are no seasons, you can easily "clone" your garden to a different "plot of land" and replace your 'summer" versions of various plants with "fall," "winter," or "spring" verions. It's just a matter of finding appropriate plant (and other) "objects" at Sims sites online.

O

- Again, please post here your experiences with and recomendations (or dis-recomendations, if that's a word in English) of garden software, such as virtual garden makers.

-Happy gardening!

-vlad

Here is a link that might be useful: BBC Virual garden Maker, on- or off-line

Comments (4)

jiggreen
19 years ago
i'm not the only one who uses The Sims as a home building/decorating/gardening tool!! i was able to make a house that looked remarkably like mine and i even populated it with our family! (i am so thin in the game and i never have a bad hair day!! oh and i do admit to using up a majority of the personality attributes for my husband in the "cleanliness" category. i was hoping he'd magically pick up after himself in the real world also..lol!!) i constantly scour the net for more downloads of wallpapers, furniture, plants, yard accessories to make my sim house look even more like my own. i love the sims, i think it's a wonderful tool, and i have also found myself wishing on occasion that a software designer would make a similar program (i.e. easy and fun to use as well as highly expandable) that wouldn't necessarily be a game, but more of a "planner".

i have also used that program on BBC, and it's fun, but it just doesnt have the freedom and range of items that the sims have. i do like the fact that it is to scale though. and a similar program can be found at BHG.com, if you are interested in incorporating a deck into your landscape.

i'll be watching this thread with interest because i'd love to find more programs to play with....winter is coming and we have to feed our addictions somehow!
Brent_In_NoVA
19 years ago
I keep meaning to post to this thread, but have not had the time to come up with a full response. I got Broderbund's "3D Home Architect Landscape Design Deluxe 6" for Fathers Day. I know that it has gotten horrible user reviews, but there is a review online (Garden Gate I think) that made it sound wonderful. I think most of the user reviews are correct. So far it has been a struggle to get anything useful out of it.

Off the top of my head, hear are a couple of my major complaints:
* There are 20 or so house templates and that is all you can use. You have to buy another piece of software to be able to create houses.
* The terrain mapping is limited and difficult to use. My yard just has a couple slopes, but I have not been able to get anything that looks very close.
* You cannot import a picture of an item (say your backyard) and just place plants on the picture. This is what I really wanted to be able to do.
* The rendered pictures are far from "photo quality". I have tried bumping the quality to the highest level but all that seems to do is make the rendering take longer. This is probably my biggest complaint. I would be more willing to work through the other issues if I could end up with a high quality rendering of the finished landscape.

If anybody knows of a web site with tips or a forum that discusses 3D Home Architect, please let me know.

Here is a link to the Garden Gate review:
Garden Gate's Landscape Software Comparison

- Brent
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mpbruns
19 years ago
Hi everyone,

I'm looking for Mac gardening software, something to track the increasing number of perennials in my garden, upload my digital photos, keep good records, etc. I don't particularly want to lay out designs, just track what I have.

I have done considerable searching (and yes, have looked at the BBC software!), but I;m really running out of ideas.

If anyone can suggest something, I'd deeply appreciate it.

Many thanks,

Merry
ritadc
19 years ago
I am interested in finding a program that allows you to put a picture of your actual house in and try different landscapes around it. I am in dire need of hardscape but am terrified of spending thousands and not liking the outcome so I would like to see--via the computer--how a winding brick walk would look like vs. a straight in from the street flagstone. I think a virtual picture of the house trying the two designs might help!