Customer Reviews

Your Complete Landscape and Garden Designer (DVD-Rom)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I purchase this software at a retail store. Huge waste of money. I've had the software about a month. I've tried several times to work with it and I'm no computer dummy. It's difficult to manuver through the programs.

If you scan in photo of your house/yard to see what certain plants look like, you can't do it. It only gives you general plants just for looks. I wanted to build a planting bed and this program is not good for doing it.

So after failing to get actual plant with names from the first scenario I decided to go ahead and try the 3D thing. With this option you cannot scan in a photo of your home. You have to build one from ground up or you choose one of their stock photos. That really bites. I'm still haven't been able to even get the footprint of my house, because the closest one that resembles mine is not working for some reason. I've finally given up. I too wish I could get my money back. There is no way to contact the software company.

All in all - don't waste your money or your time. I'm back on the hunt for another software program.

I bought this software and was unable to load it on my computer. My computer met the minimum requirements, but after I came home and tried to load it on the computer it would not load. Come to find out, XP users may have difficulty.....WHAT? It says XP on the box. When I tried to get support, they have no phone number, no e-mail (fishy for a software company) and you have to write them a letter, which they never write back. DO NOT BUT ANYTHING FROM VALUSOFT!

I was hesitant to purchase after seeing a few avg reviews but I'm glad I did. I've had fun creating garden 'scenarios', watching the plants change through the seasons and grow over time. The library sorts by numerous features and conditions. So far I've planned for a new bed next to a pergola and patio we had installed last year. I put in a plan that I got from a magazine and made changes to include the plants I really wanted. It even tests my plan to make sure the spacing is right, gives me a planting map and shopping list. Now when I go get the plants I know how many, where they will go and I'll have blooms all 3 seasons!!! Designing a house was OK but that's not really what I wanted it for.

The description led me to believe that I could use this as a non-landscape expert. I am a novice and this is not a product for a novice - either from a computer saavy standpoint or a landscaping standpoint. I cannot use this software other than the encylopedia and I would not have purchased this just for that. I'm dissapointed and wish I could get my money back.

Keep in mind this software costs less than $20. That said, I am very satisfied. One of my favorite features is the shadow caster. Once I had my house and fences in place this feature proved very helpful in determining how much sunlight each garden area will get at different times of the year. If you are looking for easy to use software to design gardens and landscape without spending much money, I highly recommend this product. I run XP and keep it current in regards to updates and had no problems installing and running the software. It worked equally well on XP 64-bit that I have on a second machine.

This software was uninstallable. They won't replace the DVD or refund the cost. Their support is extremely poor.

The one thing I don't like is the fact that one cannot make a bitmap or jpg of the Plan View (like if you wanted to email it to someone). Other than that, it's a pretty fun little program, and quite versatile considering the low cost.

The software was easy and fast to load, and I've enjoyed using the program. I found the garden encyclopedia to be thorough. I would have liked the visual to be a bit larger, but other than that this package worked great for our front and back yard landscape plans, and also for our deck!

Apparently DVD means must have disk in machine at all times to run, who wants to do that? I was told program is pretty good but I didn't look very hard because I don't want to endure learning when I rebel at the idea of keeping a disk close at hand. Though it says you can register online, I was thrown into some sort of game sequense. Online update didn't work because prog is not smart enough for a straight up cable access?? At $25 it's not worth bothering to return it so I'd suggest saving you money and look elsewhere.

Software won't install, Tech Support sent an email stating to wash the CD with warm water and let it air dry. This was new software opened for the first time - should have been clean, but I washed it anyway --- Still Wouldn't Install. Tech Support sugested several other fixes by email --- all seemed very technical to me --- I wanted to use the program I bought, not work on it. Save your money, find another program that works right out of the box.