Most landscape design apps suffer from the same flaw: they assume your outdoor space is a blank, rectangular canvas. Real gardens, however, are wonderfully imperfect. They have awkward corners, shifting patterns of sun and shade, and an underground network of roots from neighboring trees. They demand a design tool that embraces these quirks rather than ignoring them.
Enter Home Outside Palette, created by Vermont-based garden designer Julie Moir Messervy. This app puts drag-and-drop design tools in your pocket, letting you craft a plan as idiosyncratic as your own plot. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, the free version lets you choose hardscape materials, lay out paths and patios, and arrange outdoor furniture. For deeper customization, bundled add-ons (up to $14.99) unlock freehand sketching, annotation tools, and four curated plant palettes.
Above: A drought-tolerant garden designed using the app, featuring agave and magenta bougainvillea.
Messervy, author of eight landscape design books, brings over 30 years of expertise to the platform. Through her Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio, U.S.-based users can upload property details and a wish list to receive a personalized landscape design at a discounted rate—a seamless bridge between DIY planning and professional guidance.
Above: The drag-and-drop interface makes it simple to add paths, pick hardscaping materials, and arrange patio furniture.
Above: In-app purchases unlock four garden palettes—perennials, shrubs, grasses, and container plants—plus freehand sketching.
Above: The latest version adds layer locking for easier editing and lets you import an aerial view of your property via Google Maps.
Above: Julie Moir Messervy's Vermont garden, designed by her studio before the app's release. Photograph by Bill Sumner.
Unlike generic planners, Home Outside Palette acknowledges that every garden has a personality. The Google Maps import feature is a game-changer—it grounds your design in reality from the start. Layer locking prevents accidental shifts when you're fine-tuning a complex layout. And the plant palettes, curated by a veteran designer, save you from decision paralysis at the nursery.
Even if you're a second-floor apartment dweller dreaming of a future backyard, the app is genuinely fun to explore. It turns "what if" into a tangible plan you can refine over seasons.
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