Dynascape Design; Landscape Design Software

December 22, 2008

If you’re anything like me, you don’t have 7 years to become a beginning landscape architect, proficient in CAD and perfect with hand rendering. You probably don’t even have time to go to night classes for a year to learn how to use one of those complicated and user-unfriendly CAD programs.

Never fear: I’ve done all the research for you on the best options for Landscape Design software that is easy to use, looks professional, and will help you land your next landscape design. Software of choice? Dynascape Landscape Design Software.

I researched many options before choosing this landscape design software. The thing that sold me on Dynascape is that I was able to do a free trial and had enough time to use the design and estimating software through two full projects before deciding it was for me. You can try it out for free, too.

I like that I can import .dwg  or .dxf files into Dynascape; so I can work with architects and import their site plans to reduce time spent drawing it myself. You can also export to these file types.

I also love that I can take my own digital photo of a paper site plan and import it into Dynascape, re-scale the photo so that the photo of the site plan is accurately scaled to my landscape design scale, then “trace” the paper plan into Dynascape, so that I end up with a perfectly scaled site plan from a piece of paper the client has provided me. It saves a lot of time and is much simpler to do than it sounds.

I also really appreciate the ways in which you can build your own list of favorite figures and actions to take. I use the same 20 figures over and over again, scaled differently for different plants, so it’s great to have a shortcut to find all my favorites.

Another feature in this landscape design software is that you can email clients a PDF version of their plans, so they can see choices you have made along the way and give feedback without you having to trek to their home.

The figures are varied and look professional. I’ve seen other landscape design software that only uses circles for the plants, and I find that my clients really appreciate that they can tell what is a fern, what is an ornamental grass, what is a Hydrangea, what is a flowering perennial, and what a conifer tree looks like on their landscape design.

Software saves me so much time in drawing out a varied and beautiful landscape design. Software also really helps me save time on the estimating; though not all landscape design programs have an estimating module, Dynascape does. They take the info directly from the plan and import it into the estimating software, and if you’ve set everything up right, it’s just a few clicks to print out any kind of estimate you wish for the client.

You don’t have to include individual prices, but you can. Or you can break the work and materials into sections, so you have a total for all plants, all labor, all hardscape. The printing options are varied enough that you can customize what you show in your bid or estimate and what you don’t. I’ve found just having the totals and not the details listed keeps the client from thinking they can “save money” on the installation by purchasing inferior materials at a big box store.

Dynascape design software also has a lot of features that help with subcontracting, like square footage calculators, etc. I haven’t gotten into that too much, but I do like to provide the contractor with the square footage of every bed area, and the length of curving lines, so they can buy the right amount of edging material.

Now, here’s where you really sell plans: this landscape design software has a wonderful plant encyclopedia with photos from Monrovia and other growers that you can easily insert into your plans. I’ve found the photos really help sell my plans, and I can include samples of finished plans in my marketing packet to increase sales. Once you’ve labeled all your plants, just add the photos from those plant labels and you have a gorgeous, finished design that looks great.

I print my landscape designs out in color on glossy photo paper so it makes a stunning presentation to the client. For giving to contractors, or to have working (dirty!) copies of your landscape design, you can easily print out cheaper copies in black and white.

Dynascape Design does have a stiff price tag; it’s $2500 for the Design and Quote software, and an additional $700 for the color module. I also didn’t like their payment plan, which requires you to pay $500 in interest (15% over one year) regardless of whether you pay it off in four months or twelve. They also stop providing support, software upgrades, and access to their online plant database after one year unless you pay to “subscribe”, which is $550 a year.

But if you think of the time you save using this to do a landscape design – software seems like it is a worthy investment. This design software definitely saved me at least eight hours per plan done, off my hand-drawing time, and has landed me a few jobs that I probably wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. It just plain looks professional to present clients with something so neat, easy to read and understand and crisply rendered. So for me, design software was a worthy investment.

Want to see a few designs I’ve done with Dynascape Landscape Design Software? These are not the ones done with the Color Module, I’ll post those separately. This is just the basic, out of the box capability you get with this design software.

Dynascape Design software example 2

Dynascape Design Software example 4

Dynascape Design Software Example 3

Dynascape Design software example 1

{ 2 comments }

Bahco Pruner; Review of My Hand Pruner of Choice

December 22, 2008

I currently own two Bahco hand pruners – The PXR-M2 Ergonomic Roll-Handle Medium Size, and the PX-M2, the same thing only with the fixed handle.

I used other brands for years until I discovered the Bahco pruner, and I haven’t gone back. The neatest thing about the Bahco pruner is how easily the ergonomic design allows you to cut through the thickest of stems – stems that before I had to pull out my loppers to deal with. I’ve had other brands, like the ubiquitous red-handled lovely that so many gardeners like, that were meant to be ergonomically positioned for cutting thicker stems, but they don’t hold a candle to my Bahco.

My primary hand pruner is the Bahco pruner with the fixed handle, because I find it easiest to grab quickly, prune, and put back in my holster.

The roll-handle Bahco pruner is great for extended pruning jobs, where you hold the pruner in your hand for a half hour or more. I pull out my roll-handle Bahco pruner for fruit tree pruning, or days when I know I’ll be pruning for a long time. The rolling handle is a bit larger and because it rolls, it isn’t as easy to grab and position in the hand quickly as the normal Bahco pruner.

A couple of the features you find on a Bahco: Pruner blade has a special coating on it that reduces the stickiness from sap and keeps the blade from wearing down. That means they stay sharp longer and need less cleaning and care. Another feature on the Bahco pruner blade is the sap groove, which is a little inlet on the blade which catches the sap as you prune and sloughs it away from the blade, so your hand pruner will stay clean longer.

Amazon.com sells many models – just search for Bahco Pruner and you’ll see the variety of styles. The hand pruner comes in left or right handed, a variety of blade and handle sizes (I like the medium size), and a range of quality you can choose from depending on how much you use your hand pruners.

{ 1 comment }