Choosing and arranging flowers and plants for a garden is not as simple as one could think at first. Things get serious when all variables are taking into account: there exists an enormous range of combinations of plant types and colours, being important to consider how well they fit together, not only in terms of aesthetics, but also in relation to the small ecosystem they compose. Adding to the problem external factors such as the aspect of the surroundings or the user’s preferences only makes it a more complicated task. Luckily, designing gardens worth to be admired has been an activity that humanity has performed for centuries, and by now there is a good amount of landscaping-related literature. Nonetheless, most of the people will not have the time or the wish to get that deep into the matter, and amateur gardeners would benefit from the guidance that a landscaping advisor could offer.

Applying augmented reality technology to this concept, it is possible to develop a tool that collects all the needed information and recommends different arrangements of plants, presenting a 3D preview of the design overlayed onto the gardening area. Following this approach, the user does not have to blindly choose a recommendation: the final outcome is already displayed in the same space where the plants will be planted. Furthermore, space distribution plays a huge part in landscaping, thus strengthening the possibilities to use augmented reality for exploring and interacting with the virtual garden, as well as defining its boundaries and other external elements.

For this thesis, good programming skills are required. The tool will be developed using Unity, so some basic knowledge about it would be desirable as well.