🌿 7 Must-Have iPad Apps for Landscape Architecture & Garden Design
Whether you're designing immersive outdoor spaces or simply sketching garden ideas on the go, the iPad has become an essential tool for today’s landscape architects and designers. Here are 7 powerful apps I personally use for creative design, planting visualization, sun analysis, and more.
1. iScape – Augmented Reality Garden Design
Transform your outdoor space with AR.
Why I use it: iScape lets you overlay trees, paths, hedges, and garden features directly onto real-world views using your iPad’s camera. It’s great for visualizing garden makeovers or communicating ideas with clients—especially those unfamiliar with plans or sections.
✦ Perfect for quick landscape previews
✦ Easy drag-and-drop plant library
✦ Great for small residential or DIY projects
2. Procreate – Freehand Sketching & Rendering
Digital artistry meets design thinking.
Why I use it: Procreate is unmatched when it comes to expressive sketching, coloring plant textures, or rendering masterplans and elevations. With custom brushes (like watercolor trees or stippled shading), you can turn a blank canvas into a visual masterpiece.
✦ Pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil support
✦ Unlimited layers, custom brushes
✦ Ideal for post-production and presentation boards
3. Morpholio Trace – Architectural Overlay & Site Analysis
A digital trace paper for professionals.
Why I use it: Morpholio Trace combines the feel of hand sketching with precise architectural tools. I often import site photos or base maps, then sketch overlays for circulation, planting zones, or spatial diagrams.
✦ Scale ruler, templates, layer control
✦ Great for iterative design thinking
✦ Useful for concept plans and design sections
4. Concepts – Infinite Canvas & Flexible Drafting
For fluid sketching and vector exports.
Why I use it: When planning larger site layouts or free-form diagrams, Concepts offers an infinite canvas and precise vector sketching. It’s ideal for brainstorming big ideas and then exporting clean vectors to CAD or Illustrator.
✦ Infinite workspace with real-world scale
✦ Soft drawing + hardline drafting tools
✦ Works well with Apple Pencil and stylus gestures
5. PictureThis – Plant Identification & Garden Planning
Know your plants instantly.
Why I use it: I use PictureThis to identify unknown trees or shrubs on site. It provides quick plant names, care tips, and bloom times—essential when selecting species for planting palettes or checking on client sites.
✦ Accurate image-based plant ID
✦ Plant care guides and pest alerts
✦ Ideal for quick in-field research
6. SketchUp (for iPad) – 3D Site Modeling On the Go
Fast 3D massing and terrain modeling.
Why I use it: With the SketchUp iPad app, I can quickly block out topography, terraces, and structures during site visits or early-stage meetings. It syncs with desktop SketchUp and Trimble for a seamless workflow.
✦ Create or edit 3D models directly on iPad
✦ Use Apple Pencil for precision modeling
✦ Export into LayOut or CAD-ready files
7. Sun Seeker – Solar Path & Shade Studies
Understand sun angles before planting.
Why I use it: Before placing shade trees or planning seating areas, I always check the solar path. Sun Seeker shows real-time sun positioning, summer/winter sun angles, and how shadows move across the day.
✦ Live AR sun path viewer
✦ Hour-by-hour sunlight data
✦ Critical for passive design and planting decisions
Procreate Brushes Bundle for Landscape Design
Final Thoughts
These 7 iPad apps have become my essential toolkit for landscape architecture and planting design. Whether I'm sketching, analyzing sun angles, or visualizing tree placement in AR, they help me work faster, smarter, and more creatively—right from the field or studio.
Have a favorite app I didn’t mention? Let me know or tag me on Instagram at @landspace.architecture and share your setup!
