Garden design is very difficult for those who have very little experience designing gardens. Of course like anything, the more you do it the more of a feel you develop a feel for it thus making it easier to do successfully. But, you are a novice garden designer, and then it's hard to know which flowers will like nice together, how high this and that shrub will grow, or when this or that tree will bloom. Garden design is a lot more than just creating a collage with picture of flowers in bloom. You have to remember when each flower will be at its peak. For many, the thought of free garden design software is attractive.

Before I discuss a piece of free garden design software, let me point out that there are several pay for software packages that are really cheap and affordable. Also, you can often find people selling used versions of garden design software for reasonable prices. As you consider free garden design software, keep in mind that they will not be as powerful as the reasonably priced pay for versions you can find out there.

The best free garden design software I have seen out there is actually a free version of a more robust pay for package. This is going to be the case with any free software that's worth using. But that's ok, what you are able to do with this free software is still impressive.

This free garden design software allows you to upload a picture of your own yard as the background for designing your garden. Then one-by-one you can add in hedges and shrubs, trees and flowers, annuals and so on. The software comes stocked with actual pictures, not illustrations, so you can see exactly what your garden will look like. When you are done, you can print the result on your color printer or email the results to friends and family.

Another cool feature of this free garden design software is the ability to watch the plants grow over the course of one, two and even five years. It's not enough to just see what your garden will look like at a single snapshot moment when everything looks perfect. This free garden design software allows you to see what your garden will look like at different stages of its development.

All software has a learning curve and isn't always easy to use or intuitive. This free garden design software comes with a video tutorial to get you started. Watch and listen as you are taken step-by-step through each feature of the software.

Finally, if the features of this free garden design software are not enough, there is a pay for version that packs a little more punch. However, if you are a beginner chances are the free version will be all that you need to design the ideal garden for you home.