Import DWG, DXF, PDF, 3DS, and SKP Files

Design on top of an external CAD design by importing a DWG, DXF, or PDF file and drawing over it using Realtime Landscaping Architect’s intuitive and powerful tools. Bring your existing AutoCAD drawings to the next level of landscape design professionalism.

3D files in the 3DS (3D Studio) or SKP (SketchUp) formats can be imported into your landscape designs with ease.

House Design Made Easy

Use the House Wizard to drop in a pre-built house, or create your own. Add houses simply by drawing their outline: the walls, trim, and even the roof are all created automatically.

Easily add single and multi-story houses to your landscape design. Add doors, windows, porch lights, change the siding and roofing materials, select between gable and hip roof styles – all with just a few mouse clicks.

Only the exterior of houses are modeled — not the interior. This makes houses much easier to build and edit than traditional home design programs, and helps you focus on designing the landscape.

Extensive Object Library

The software comes with over 17,000 objects, including 7,400 plants, 4,200 accessories, 2,050 plant symbols, and more.

Plant types include trees, shrubs, flowers, water garden, cactus, and palms. Plant information includes common name, botanical name, planting zones, and size.

Make your landscape design even more realistic with planters, pond bridges, gazebos, tables and chairs, ornaments, and more. More than 140 different rock materials are provided, including granite, marble, and limestone.

Create Custom Models

Create custom furniture, arbors and trellises, planters, and other objects using the integrated modeling tools. Easy to follow tutorials help you get started.

Once your object is assembled to your liking, use a quick dialog to save it as a completed object for use in current or future landscape designs.

You can also import models created using SketchUp. Choose from thousands of free models available in the 3D Warehouse.

Import Digital Photographs

Import a digital photograph of your client’s house and design the surrounding landscape. All common image formats are supported, including JPG, BMP, PNG, and TGA. This is a fast and effective way of showing clients before-and-after views of your landscaping ideas.

Once your photo landscape design is complete, save it as a common image format that can be e-mailed or posted to your website. Alternately, bring your laptop to the client to make changes immediately if necessary.

Deck Design Tools

Use the deck wizard to drop in a pre-built deck, or design your own from scratch. Creating a deck is as simple as drawing its outline. The boards, support posts, and railing are added automatically.

Multi-story decks, curved decking and railing, and decks with holes for hot tubs are all supported. Decking materials include painted, stained, and natural wood varieties.

Adjustable deck components include surface, framing, railing posts, top railing, bottom railing, balusters, fascia, deck stairs, and skirting. More than 140 different wood materials are available. Specialty decks are also supported; make your deck stand out by adding glass panels, bronze post caps, steel balusters, and more.

Swimming Pools and Spas

Drop in complete swimming pool designs using the wizard, or design your own from scratch. Add pool decking, change the coping and tile, set variable pool depths, create multilevel pools and decking, and much more. Pools and spas can be any shape and size. Above and below ground pools are supported. A complete set of pool accessories with diving boards, ladders, and lighting is also included.

Create highly customized swimming pool designs with support for infinity edges. Create spas that flow into pools, pools that flow into catch basins, and even pools or spas that flow into multiple other water sources.

Ponds, Waterfalls, Fountains, Streams

Design ponds by drawing their outline, which can be any shape or size. Choose the liner material, water depth, type of rocks surrounding the border, and more.

Add waterfalls with just a few mouse clicks. Water will flow realistically from the waterfall and into the pond, creating ripples where it lands. Use rockery to create custom spillways. Create cascading waterfalls, with the water flowing from one into the other. Pondless waterfalls can also be easily designed.

Choose between a wide array of fountain types: bell, cascade, tulip, pillar, and ornamental. Fountains can be placed stand-alone, in ponds, or on top of other fountains. You can even design your own fountains and other objects using the wizard.

Design With Slopes & Hills

Create slopes, hills, trenches, raised flower beds, and more. Adjust the height of the terrain at any point using exact dimensions. Add straight or curved retaining walls, building pads, and other features. The software works in real-time, so you get instant feedback on your changes.

Six different terrain tools are available, allowing you to select the right tool for your landscape. Adjust the topography at any point in your landscaping process, be it before, during, or after your design is completed.

Support for contour lines has recently been added to Realtime Landscaping Architect. Using the Contour tool, simply draw contour lines to control the topography of your landscape design. Both open and closed contour lines are supported.

Landscape Lighting Design

Add landscape lights to your design and watch them come on at night. You control the size, orientation, color, and brightness of each light. Landscape lighting styles include path, porch, pond, and wide and narrow beam spotlights.

Both Kichler and Philips Hadco have included lights in Realtime Landscaping Architect to provide a realistic interactive product selection process. If one light does not look perfect in your landscape design then swap it out in just a few clicks of the mouse.

Create Project Estimates and Material Lists

Using the Project Material List feature, you can create a bill of materials, set item descriptions and prices, and export the result to Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet program.

Realtime Landscaping Architect automatically updates the Project Material List whenever an object is added or removed from your landscape, meaning you will spend less time calculating your work and more time focusing on your design. Once your design is complete you may print the project material list or export it to Excel for further adjustment.

Design Privacy and Decorative Fencing

Whether you want a white picket fence for the garden, or a large fence surrounding your entire property, adding fencing is as easy as drawing a line.

Fences automatically follow the contour of the terrain. You can indicate which side the framing is on, change the board material, and select between sloped or stepped fencing styles.

Available fence categories include wooden, vinyl, chain link, and aluminum fencing by Jerith. Fencing styles include post and rail, privacy, picket, ranch, ornamental, and many more.

Irrigation Designs

Create irrigation systems using Realtime Landscaping Architect’s powerful tools. Use the Sprinkler Head tool to add fully adjustable water coverage. Use the Sprinkler Line tool to lay out the irrigation pipes in any color and style needed. Add rain sensors, valves, the POC, and more using the prebuilt symbols available, or create your own irrigation symbols.