Preparation
Green thumbs, rejoice: The web is teeming with user-friendly gardening apps that will make tending to your plants a whole lot easier. If you’re not a plant parent just yet, you’ll find that these apps make learning how to start your own indoor or outdoor garden a breeze-and that’s good news for anyone, beccause the perks of growing plants at home are aplenty. “You don’t need a lot of plants to feel their benefit,” says Summer Rayne Oakes, plant mom to over 1,100 plants and author of How to Make a Plant Love You: Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart. “I really started with one, and it made such a noticeable difference in my space and peace of mind.”
Along with creating a more calming atmosphere, plants offer all kinds of health benefits. “There have been countless peer-reviewed research reports out there on how plants effectively purify the air; lower our blood pressure; allow us to heal faster when sick; and even make us more creative with their presence,” Oakes adds. Thanks to all the gardening apps currently available on your devices, caring for your houseplants at home is simpler than ever. “There are so many useful apps out there for indoor gardeners,” she says. “Apps that can tell you about the quality of light in your home, the direction of your light, and how to ensure your plants are receiving the amount of light they require.” Ready to start cultivating you home garden from your smartphone? Here are ten apps we think every home gardener will appreciate.
RELATED: 10 ESSENTIALS EVERY GARDENER SHOULD OWN
The first step in being a successful plant parent is properly identifying your plants. Not only does the SmartPlant app help you figure out what kind of houseplant you have, it allows you to create a digital care calendar for your plants so you can be alerted their specific needs, like a weekly watering.
Obsessed with a plant you spotted at the store but not sure if it can thrive in your home? The Garden Answer Plant ID app enables Apple and Android users to submit pictures of plants through their phone so you can quickly ID them on the go.
Still can’t seem to figure out what that elusive plant you picked up from the corner store is? Developed by researchers from Columbia University and the Smithsonian Institution, Leafsnap allows you to photo ID a plant by submitting a photo of its leaves. No wonder it’s the preferred plant identifier of the Natural History Museum.
If you’re not so great at remembering to water your plants, then we have the app for you. Waterbug lets you snap a picture of your plant and then set a watering schedule-complete with reminders on watering days-for each of them.
Having a hard time determining how much sunlight your plants are basking in? Sun Seeker uses your location to track the sun’s movement, so you can figure out if your plants are getting full, partial, or indirect lighting from any area of your home.
RELATED: 10 APPS EVERY KNITTER SHOULD HAVE
Next to excessive watering, a lack of light is the most common cause of death for indoor houseplants. Luckily, the Plant Light Meter app allows Apple users to orient their smartphone cameras directly towards a light source to instantly determine its quality.
Looking for easy access to gardening advice from actual plant experts? The Grow It! app connects you with local gardeners in your community to get questions answered and hopefully, inspiration for future gardening endeavors.
Consider the Garden Manager: Plant Alarm app for Android Users your new personal houseplant assistant. Along with allowing you to set watering and fertilizing alarms for each of your houseplants, the app creates a digital profile of your plants that you can share with friends on social media.
Searching for a way to connect with other gardeners on your smart phone social-media-style? GardenTags lets users create personal profiles to share gardening tips and other helpful information.
Not only does the Gardening Companion app supply you with tons of useful tips, you can actually create your own personalized “garden magazine” where you can collect and access articles that are of particular interest to you about your plants.
