Making gardening mobile

Armitage’s Greatest Perennials & Annuals

What is this app all about?
As the app title suggests, this app is a guide to many of Dr. Allan Armitage’s favorite annuals and perennials. Armitage’s Greatest Perennials & Annuals is geared toward gardeners looking to learn more about plants for their gardens, with information about approximately 70 plant genera.

What does it do?
The main component of this app is a catalog of Dr. Armitage’s plant selections. There are several different ways for consumers to browse the plants, including by USDA Zones, plants for shade or sun, annuals or perennials and plants grown for flowers or for leaves. Each plant listing, written in an easy-to-read, conversational tone, contains the botanical name, common name(s), light requirements, height, colors, why that plant “makes the cut,” some hints for success, recommended cultivars, and sometimes will include a video.

One other component of the plant listing is what Dr. Armitage calls the “Deer browsing” rating, which he explains in a humorous way in a separate section of the app. Basically, it refers to how appealing a certain plant is to a deer, and the rating is constantly being reviewed and debated among app users who have found a plant to be more or less appealing to deer in their area. For example, Lobularia maritima, or Sweet alyssum, has a deer browsing rating of 2-3. A rating of 2 means “Occasional browsing, but generally safe” from deer, and 3 means “Eaten buds and some browsing routine, but not the first course, but still can be frustrating.” If it’s listed as a 5, don’t even bother planting it if there are deer in the area, because it will get eaten, Armitage says. On the other hand, plants with a rating of 1, such as Antirrhinum majus, should be relatively uninteresting to deer, and will not likely get eaten.

Dr. Armitage says that the first question after “sun or shade” that he gets from consumers is “where do I buy this plant?” For that reason, he is listing independent garden centers, by state for U.S. garden centers and province for Canadian stores, in the app free of charge. Customers are certainly interested in his recommendations.

Several app users have asked recently about specific regions or stores in the “Comments” tab of the app. Garden centers who wish to be listed should contact Dr. Allan Armitage at amarmitage@earthlink.net.

Where can I find it?
Armitage’s Greatest Perennials & Annuals can be found on the Apple App Store and Google Play for $4.99.

Picagardi

What is this app all about?
Picagardi is for consumers who want to see what a flower or container arrangement might look like in their home before going to the store and purchasing the app. Chris Coope, one of the app’s developers and a landscape designer, says that the idea behind this app came from his days of designing gardens in Britain. He would draw a mock-up of what the final garden would look like after visiting the customers’ homes, and leave this picture with the customer. Many times, this would translate into a booked job, since the customers could accurately picture the final product, and could refer back to the photo while they decided. While Picagardi is not intended to be a garden design app, it provides customers with the opportunity to “try out” different plants in the area before deciding on a final set-up.

What does it do?
Customers take a photo of the project area that they would like to put plants in, whether that be a deck, porch, balcony or other setting, and choose one or more of the products listed in the app to include. The app will superimpose the plant/container onto the photo, and customers can move it to where they would like. If they decide that they like that look, they can save it, and then head to the garden center to purchase the product. The app is customizable for a fee to garden centers interested in uploading their own products and store information.

Where can I find it?
The preview version of Picagardi is now available at the Apple App Store for $1.99 and Google Play for $2.99.

HEAR MORE about Armitage's app in the podcast "Mobile app for tech-savvy customers"