Domain Name Com's Software Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer 7.0 [OLD VERSION]

Software Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer 7.0 [OLD VERSION]

Domain Name Com's - Software : Better Homes and Gardens Landscaping and Deck Designer 7.0 [OLD VERSION]

- Frustrating to work with but I'm content with the end results
This program gave me what I needed in the end but the frustration with it is never-ending. Some of this frustration is certainly due to my lack of understanding about how the product works best. In other words, I've watched few of the tutorials and read nothing. However, I do try to problem-solve with the products training and help options when necessary. Here are a few examples of my frustrations. 1) the plant list is not adequate and often inappropriate (you can't plant a common garden plant like lettuce but you can find a cranberry plant!), 2) You have little flexibility in designing the shape of objects like a patio or walkway, 3) If you have a 10' x 10' deck and try to cut and paste a 10' x 10' gazebo onto it you will have to downsize the gazebo first because the program does not allow for the gazebo to overlap the deck so you're paste would have to be perfectly centered for it to work, 4) I could not size a pergola so that the roof crossbeams would extend out over my deck, 5) sometimes items overlap and the item on the bottom cannot be moved unless you uncover it, sounds simple but it can be a big headache.

So that all said I gave the product 3 stars because it got me what I needed, a landscaping plan that my wife and I can agree on. I've spent countless hours working with it and knowing the limitations up front can save time along the way.

Rating:

- Good - not great
the sofware is pretty easy to use, but does not have many of the plants we use in our area.

Rating:

- Landscaping Made Easy!
I am enjoying this product. It was not hard to get the basics set up, except for the elevation levels for the terrain. However, with some experimenting and some reading, I was pretty much "designing" within a few days (I work, so this was play time). I am not terribly computer savy, but was able, through trial and error, to use the software in a relatively short period of time.

Main drawback is the limited number of plants in the menu. Most of the standard plants are available, but I am looking for a download that would bring in additional plants.

All in all, I feel that if I can do this, and enjoy it as much as I have, just about anyone can feel confident about buying it. I am pleased.

Rating:

- Good software for basic designs
The software has good tutorials and is fairly easy to use. It was difficult trying to layout a non-square plot plan. I would have liked a larger tree / plant selection for my area (Colorado) as I live in a covenant controlled community that only allow certain types of landscaping. Overall a good piece of software.

Rating:

- Pedestrian Software for Pedestrian Landscapes
I picked this up in the hopes of visualizing some possible landscape options for our front and back yard without having to pay a professional landscaping firm for a consult.

First, the good. The tutorial videos are straightforward, easy to follow, and easy to learn from. The user interface is also pretty good, and I managed to make a reasonable approximation of our house in under 20 minutes. There's also a ton of trees, plants, shrubs, and so on, and the "zone finder" is very helpful in narrowing down what will grow in your particular area.

Now the bad. If your yard is at all hilly in an unusual way, that is, if it's not perfectly flat or gently sloped, you're going to have a nearly impossible time getting your yard laid out with this software unless you have a degree in cartography. I consider myself pretty bright, and pretty adept with maps, and I still cannot manage to lay out my yard correctly with this software. Given, I have an unusual yard. The driveway slopes down, but the front yard remains level until it hits a 5' retaining wall. The back yard has at least three distinct levels. Still, this software claims it can handle odd yards, but it does a poor job at it.

Second, if your tastes in landscaping run to the extreme, hire a professional. There's plenty of "garden variety" gardens in this software, but if you're looking for unusual water features, perhaps asian-inspired accents (very popular here in the Pacific NW), look elsewhere. While heavy on plants, decks, and lawn furniture, anything unique or slightly out of the ordinary isn't included here. My own design called for a basalt fountain. Not to be found, even for download on the website. And oddly shaped stone patios? Don't even try, unless you want to individually model every stone. You may as well just skip the software and get right to real landscaping.

For a vast majority of people going with very tried and true, non-experimental and non-extreme landscaping designs, this will probably be very adequate software. Want to arrange some flowers, trees, and bushes on your mostly flat yard? This is money well spent if you have no talent with pen and paper. However, if you're looking for a solution to unlock your hidden creatvitiy, look to a professional, or stick with your existing artistic skills in the medium of your choice.

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