No matter what your level of computer savvy, even basic computer users can benefit from the vast wealth of visual and educational information contained in plant specification software packages. Landscape Architects and specifiers are continuously discovering the advantages of using catalogued plant lists and applications on CD-ROMs and internet databases. In fact, a recent Landscape Architect and Specifier News magazine survey indicated that 55% of readers (practicing Landscape Architects and commercial specifiers) utilize plant and material specification software for their designs.

At one level, specification software enables users to quickly and efficiently select plant materials that are appropriate for the site in question; users can manipulate the software packages to adapt to the site characteristics, weather conditions, aesthetic preferences maintenance necessities, and budget availability. For instance, the Horticopia® package offers comprehensive coverage of over 8,000 full-color, high-resolution pictures of more than 3,000 plants grown in North America. Each plant photo is accompanied by the appropriate date, including climate zones, botanical and common names, specific characteristics of the plant materials and soil and maintenance requirements.

On a second level, professional presentations come alive with outstanding results when Landscape Architects use the images contained on various CD- ROM, like PlantMaster by Acacia Software, to their advantage. By combining a computer system capable of running the CD, appropriate software which allows the importation of image files (like Adobe Photoshop), and a color printer, designers can create presentations which visually show the client the foliage they have in mind in both a powerful and professional manner.

The integral database of plant information in programs like CD Plants by Tropical Computers, Inc. makes it easy for Landscape Architects to have images and information at their fingertips when preparing proposals and presentations. When choosing plants with specific criteria, the intricate databases search for the plant for you which meets your needs. In other words, you define the criteria-- and you let the database work to find the plants that meet your criteria.

Specification software has moved into the public sector as well. To improve landscape design quality and consistency, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN/DOT) has developed, and is now distributing on CD-ROM, the first phase of a comprehensive interactive, multi-media, "expert system" available for selecting trees and shrubs for Minnesota landscapes and roadsides. In 1990, MN/DOT Landscape Architectural and forestry staff began intensive research and data collection. In the spring of 1997, after only several months of availability and use, MN/DOT's CD-ROM "expert system," Trees & Shrubs for Minnesota Landscapes & Roadsides, had received numerous awards and testimonials of praise including an honor award for research and communication from the Minnesota Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The CD-ROM correlates and displays over 1,200 color photos, along with 45 distinct fields of plant characteristics and functional tolerances/limitations for 328 trees, shrubs and vines. The system will print out lists and/or detailed fact sheets on any or all plants that pass the specifier's selection criteria. With a color printer, the user can print multiple color photos and native range maps for individual plants.

Across the board, more and more professionals are realizing the practical and creative benefits of working with specification software. LASN Associate Editor/Digital Information Scott Weinberg, ASLA, explains, "Plant specification software allows Landscape Architects to expand their plant palette... and this definitely helps add diversity and dimension to their work." These user-friendly software packages help lighten the load of plant specifications-- thereby freeing up the valuable practitioner's time for more creative design and dynamic presentations. lasn