There have been a number of improvements in recent updates to Garden Planner.
Firstly, the Plant Details feature has been updated. Previously the plant detail lists were limited to 7 items. Now you can have as many items as you want and you can even have multiple lists within a single plan. Plant details are now also stored if you use MyObjects.
There is now an option under the Settings menu for Ruler settings that lets you customize how the rulers are displayed.
There is a new category called Rocks and Slabs for gardens that use a lot of rocks, concrete and stone slabs in their layout.
You can now import position data such as that created by tools like Moasure.
Finally the ‘set elevation at point’ feature has been massively improved.
The latest update to Garden Planner is version 3.8.27. It adds in blade fencing as wall/fence style. Blade fences are a kind of vertical slat fencing often used to give a property a “modern” feel.
The update also includes adjustable mesh fencing and an option to show or hide the category titles in the Plant and Objects list.
Like all Garden Planner walls and fences the blade and mesh fences can easily be curved to create interesting wall shapes.
The latest update is version 3.8.24. This includes some bug fixes, a few new trees and the ability to right click on the items in the plant and object list. It also finally includes improved 3d models for some of the vehicles. The old models are shown in red and the new updated ones in white.
April update. This adds in a new custom paving drawing tool. Tutorial on using it here. This lets you import your own textures and use them as a paving style or use the tool to create a paving style based on your own measurement and color choices.
There are also some new flowers added to the 3d view, including bird of paradise and hollyhocks.
If you are using the new plant details options to store calendar data against your plants, you can now export that calendar data as an ics file which can then be imported into most calendar apps.
Version 3.8 is now available. This update includes a number of performance improvements. Windows users on HD screens should find that designs look crisper. Mac users will find that it fixes an issue with importing multiple images if you are using Monterey.
There is also a new feature called Plant Details that lets you easily store extra information against each plant.
There is now a specific tool for drawing out bench seating as well as highly customizable slat fencing. And, as always a bunch of new objects.
The latest update to garden planner adds in a new Find and Replace tool. To use it simply select an object or plant on your plan and then choose Find and Replace from the Selected Object menu.
You can then either find and replace all plants with the same title with a new title. Or find and replace plant symbols. This can be useful if you have a lot of identical plants that you want to change. Say changing the name to reflect a specific variety or changing the symbol because you have found a new symbol that works better for the plant.
Hidden away under the Special Collections menu in Garden Planner is the Animals and People category. This includes a few images of people viewed from above. However these people don’t show up in the 3d view. Why? We’ll the 3d view is still under development and almost (but not all) 2d objects have been added to the 3d view and the people symbols are in the not yet added category. Part of the reason for that is that a 3d view model of a person is quite complex and could have slow the 3d rendering performance. But the bigger part of the reason is because I want to be inclusive and humans are really varied. Eventually there will be some 3d people that allow you to modify the age, size, gender etc.
Until then there is an quick and easy alternative. Put a photo of a person in your plan. First, take a photo of a person. Then in an image editor remove the background so that the person is on a transparent background. This should be possible even in a simple image editor like Windows Paint. Save the image as a PNG
Then in Garden Planner go to the bottom of the walls category and add a billboard to your plan. Switch to the 3d view and select the billboard. Add the image of the person and hey presto, there they are in your garden.
In the image below I took a (not very good) photo of myself (I am normally much more handsome). Edited out the lounge room. And then added myself into a sample garden. A few tips: this would have looked better if I had taken the photo outside with natural light, if I had held the camera higher, and if I had brushed my hair.
It’s been a little while since the blog was last updated but behind the scenes there have been a number of updates to Garden Planner. The latest update adds in some gladiolus, bee balm and a bunch of new sprinklers in the irrigation section that show sprinkler area. Recent updates have included a dutch barn, an awning, blinds, decorative metal screens, a large marquee, a prep table, philodendron, holly tree, cedar tree, globe cedar, a couple more outdoor fireplaces, and some hosta.
Other recent additions include the ability to export and import your MyObjects list. And the ability to import plant data (csv) into Garden Planner.
Garden Planner development blog 