In article ,
Ben Tuinman wrote:
Just happen to browse the website of the BBC. Their Garden Section offers a
3D Virtual Garden that may be downloaded for off -line ...


The first in this thread didn't propagate to me, but let me add a plug
for a wonderful piece of software that is not specfically a garden
program, but a general 3D modeling program that can easily be used for
landscaping. The software is called Blender, and it is a www.blender.org.

Blender is generalized 3D modeling and animation software. As such, it
has a significant learning curve. However, it allows you to do a lot
more than most more limited software -- you can model your entire house,
the terrain, water, etc. and get a truly realistic result. The other
disadvantage is that there are a limited number of pre-built models
available free; if you want to have realistic-looking rosebushes, for
instance, you will either have to create them yourself or find a mesh
that you can download from the net.

This software is absolutely free and is about as good as any of the
midlevel commercial 3D modeling and rendering packages like Lightwave
ro 3D Studio Max. It has *some* of the features of the higher end
packages like Maya or SoftImage. I am very impressed with it and
use it for forensic scene reconstruction in the investigation of
homicides. Because it is a full realistic rendering package, you
can model how it would look under different lighting conditions, weather,
etc.

Since I have paid the price for the learning curve, I also used it
to model my house and lot, have used it to plan both the painting
of the interior of my house, and also the landscaping of my yard.


billo