Is There an App to Draw Plans for a Patio

Draw Your Own Garden Program Without Expensive Garden Design Software

I experimented with quite a few different garden design software packages. Many of them were very cumbersome or also limited for what I wanted. I somewhen found that it was easier to utilize an Excel spreadsheet by treating it like graph paper and combining this with the many autoshape tools in Excel. The end result tin give you a plan of your garden also as a useful plant list. Yous can even track information about your plants in the sail if you like to.

Beneath are some unproblematic instructions on how to draw a garden design plan without using special garden design software.

Step 1: Create a grid

Basically I utilise an Excel spreadsheet similar it is graph paper and just draw out my plan to calibration.

1. Start by making a grid in your Excel worksheet. I do this past changing the column width and row heights so they expect similar grid newspaper. Looking at my saved sheets they say the column width is two and the row peak is 14.five. Brand as many columns and rows this calibration as you lot think y'all volition need. You tin e'er insert more if needed.
2. Each square now represents your calibration. For my purposes I count 1 foursquare as 2 feet but information technology could be anything yous want depending on how big the garden is you are drawing. Put your measurement calibration forth the top and forth the left. You now have a spreadsheet that looks like graph paper with measurements down the peak and left side.

Step 2: Draw in the hardscapes

Next I draw in the hardscapes (business firm, patio, etc) and basic bed shapes. I use the features in the drawing toolbar to do this. Yous can select lines, arrows, squares, circles and a huge diversity of shapes under AUTOSHAPES.

To brand curved beds I use the curve line option nether autoshapes. Get to AUTOSHAPES — LINES — CURVES. At present just draw your shape in past clicking on your grid paper, keep clicking along the way. Everywhere y'all click you get a point anchored to your programme. Don't worry if it's rough — you lot tin arrange the shape later. Just get in the general shape. If you need to shut in your shape (eg a stand lonely bed) curve dorsum to the starting point and DOUBLE CLICK and it will automatically close your shape.

Now that you lot have your rough bed shape fatigued, correct click on the shape (sometimes you take to be right on the line) and select EDIT POINTS. You volition now run across a series of modest blackness squares mark every spot where you clicked on your graph paper. You lot tin can literally choice these upward and motion them around. Also you tin pick upwardly whatsoever spot on the line and brand a new signal. For fancier editing, right click your mouse on one of these points and you will meet a lot more options — yous can delete a point, open upwards a curve you closed, make a segment between points direct or curved.

SOME HINTS:

1. Nether view zoom in adequately big, this makes editing easier.
2. To brand prissy curves I make a temporary circumvolve and follow the pattern. I place a circle shape on the grid, size information technology (double click a shape and you can get very precise using the SIZE box). Put it along side your curve and now make your points follow the curve. Than I delete the circle when I am happy.
3. You can fill or non make full your beds equally yous want. If you make full you will have to be conscientious of the "order" of your objects (nosotros'll get into that in a bit).
4. You can rotate a shape once you arrive in either of two ways: click on the shape & if you have a green dot yous can just drag information technology around until yous like it'south placement. Y'all can likewise double click on the shape, go to the SIZE box and you will encounter a rotation box — simply enter a number eg 90 to rotate right 90 degrees. -xc means rotate left 90 degrees.

Stride 3: Putting in some details

Next I colour in any details I want in the plan. For example for the patio pattern, I made a series of rectangles, sized them, filled them in with texture then placed them to await like patio stones. You merely have to do the first few, cut and paste after that.

1. Hint:
   To move things you can utilise your mouse or for finer movements use your pointer keys.
2. If you create a scene that involves a lot of shapes (like the patio, or a tabular array and chairs ready) information technology is user-friendly to grouping them together so you can move them as i item. To do this select two or more shapes, correct click and go to GROUP. The items at present move together. You tin can ungroup, regroup, or group with other shapes/groups as needed.

Stride four: Planting

Next comes the fun role, planting (just like real life — create the hardscape, get the beds set & go!). I utilize a variety of shapes from autoshapes, mostly from the STARS AND BANNERS category. I then size them and colour them (fill) every bit I similar. I attempt to follow foliage or flower colour if I can. I use my scale for sizing. I also tend to brand my shapes follow a blueprint for example pointed shapes for evergreens, slightly more curved/rounded for shrubs, another shape for perennials / spreaders etc.

Hint: Notice the yellow dot in some of the shapes from STARS AND BANNERS when you click on them? Move this and you lot can alter the depth of the edging.

Next I add together constitute information. Correct click the plant shape and you tin add text. Depending on the size of your scale, total plant names may not fit then I tend to number my plants then put an index somewhere on the folio or on another sheet. I even sometimes use i calibration for shrubs (eg one,ii,three) and some other for perennials (a,b,c). You lot tin add together text boxes for longer descriptions as well. These tin can also exist rotated if you like.

Ordering shapes. Since all of your objects are shapes placed on a canvas some will autumn in front some behind. You tin shuffle shapes up or down every bit needed (for example you obviously want plants to appear on superlative of a filled in bed). Just right click on the shape, go to Club and you will see BRING TO FRONT, SEND TO Back etc.

That'south it. At present y'all have a scale cartoon of your garden.

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Source: https://everchanginggarden.ca/draw-your-own-garden-plan-without-expensive-garden-design-software/

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