Technology has become a pillar in every industry- and the field of Landscape Design is no exception. In the past few years Computer Aided Design or CAD has transformed the way the green industry approaches realizing a landscape project.
For experienced landscape designers like me, putting down my drafting pencil and picking up a computer mouse was both exciting and daunting. To be sure, the loss of the hand drawn aspect of landscape plans 
has brought a certain hesitation to all who have considered switching to a CAD system. But though the tools of the trade have changed, the fundamentals have not; creative thought and time-tested principles of landscape architecture are crucial for an intelligently designed project.
The basic advantage, however, of using a CAD system is this: CAD drawings have better accuracy when drafting the physical layout of the property in a design. Further, plans drafted using CAD are more adaptable and can be easily altered if either the designer or the homeowner change direction in their concept for the property. Consquently, turnaround time for the project is much less than if a design needed to be redrawn by hand. Imagine this--after drafting an entire project by hand, a client decides that they would like to move their new swimming pool 5 feet to the left. Back in the stone ages, you'd have to redraw the entire plan! Here in the 21st century, however, our savvy CAD program allows us to make this change with a few quick clicks.
As CAD programs have been met with less and less resistance, this practice has become a basic necessity in the industry. And why shouldn't it? Even my 5 year old kindergartener has a computer lab right in his classroom and surprises me every day with his computer knowledge.
Here's a rendering of one of our recent projects that was drafted using a CAD system: