For my Apps We Love column in our March magazine, I’m straying away from business-related apps altogether because I can’t stop looking at the buds coming out of the ground and the seed catalogs piling up on my desk. Spring can’t get here soon enough as far as I’m concerned.
So… with that in mind, for those of you with green thumbs or at least a desire to play in the mud, I’ve prepared a list of apps to help you plan your garden, embrace landscaping, identify plants, work the soil, etc.
Are you planning a major landscaping overhaul? Consider iScape – there is a free version you can play with that lets you take a picture of the area you want to landscape, then experiment with adding shrubs, trees, flowers, decks and other construction, to get an idea of how the area would look with these changes. There is an enhanced version available for purchase ($9.99), and landscape design companies that have reviewed the app use it to demonstrate their suggestions to clients.
Have you ever seen a particular flower or plant and wondered what that is? Sandra Wiley, president of Boomer Consulting said, “I am NOT a gardener, but I love flowers and when we are walking through the flint hills, or when I travel I often find flowers and plants that I wish I knew what they were. So… I found Garden Answers Plant Identification. Awesome app!” Take a photo of the plant and app will identify the plant and provide additional information about it. The app also provides information about plant diseases and insect infestations.
According to Kristy Monahan, principal at Dynamic Bookkeeping, “Garden Plan Pro, (by the geniuses behind www.growveg.com, $7.99 USD) is my life line during planting season. I love gardening but know very little. This app helps me plan my small raised bed for maximum utilization, tells me what crops do well in my region, when to plant, how to care for them, and when to harvest. I would be lost without it!”
For those of you planning a perennial garden, HGTV recommends Perennial Match (it’s not free – cost is $4.99). You can choose plants and then view images of how they will look together, and the app includes a tool that describes compatibility of plants you’re considering using in the same garden. There are filters that provide information about sun and water requirements, height, blooming season, hardiness, resistance to deer, invasiveness, and much more.
Recommended by Paste Magazine, Gardening Companion provides you with space in the app to record a searchable gardening journal, track your own planting experiences, research articles on various aspects of gardening, and set reminders for yourself (Time to water the plants! Time to order seeds! Time to plant the autumn garden!).
The GRO app (free) from Scotts Miracle-Gro offers project ideas, as well as tips and advice on growing specific plants. The app uses your phone’s location to determine local conditions, such as USDA climate zone, temperature and popular geographic plants. It even offers step-by-step plans to make growing a variety of plants, from tomatoes to shrubs, easier.
In a veggie state of mind? The Vegetable Tree app ($4.99) has a large catalog of plants and arms gardeners with the basics of sowing, growing and harvesting of each vegetable. It goes further with information about vital characteristics of each vegetable, including the ideal depth to plant seeds, germination times based on soil temperature, proper phRange, and indoor and outdoor-growing requirements.
For more humorous approach, the IntoGardens app (free) offers witty articles, photos and videos, along with user-uploaded advice.
If you just want to be inspired, check out the Houzz app which features beautiful photographs of real-life gardens that might motivate you to try something new.
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Tags: Firm Management, Technology
