Great Stocking Stuffer: “Foolproof Plants for Small Gardens” Meets Cyber Monday

Does someone you know assemble these criteria ?

1 . Own a smart phone or tablet computer

2 . Have dirt under their fingernails

3 . Appear on your holiday gift list

Then I think I ’ve got one stocking stuffer that , for $ 2.99 , is impossible to sink up . ( You might want to drop a hint to Santa so you ’re not left out of the fun . )

Plant Finding Power at Your fingertip

Foolproof Plants for Small Gardensis a power - packediOSorAndroidapp that satiate in the planting design lobe of your brain . With just a few taps at the screen this beautiful - to - look - at , easy - to - navigate package wonder will lead you to closely 100 plants that are often left out of other resources .

“ Small gardens are a passion of mine and where I have the most experience , ” saysSusan Morrison , landscape graphic designer , coauthor ( with Rebecca Sweet ) ofGarden Up : Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces(Cool Springs Press ) and frequent contributor here at Fine Gardening Magazine .

“ With abode become bigger and properties getting little , it ’s progressively authoritative to descale plants to the blank you have . ” And even if you garden a large holding , most designer will tell you that dividing your M into smaller “ rooms ” is a big way make it feel even tumid .

Lean and clear

To be completely exact , Foolproof Plantscurrently contains a information base of 98 plant life categorized by more than a dozen design habituate like colored foliage , privateness masking , drought tolerance as well as by flowered semblance . I say “ currently ” because the platform has already experienced one ontogenesis spirt and more are potential to be on the means .

And although Morrison hail from the benign growing conditions of the San Francisco Bay Area , she was savvy enough to draw on the expertness of other horticultural expert from around the country , so the list ranges from USDA Zone 10 down to 5 and even tips its hat to a few great plants in 4 .

Now , before you set out getting all “ but I ’m not into technical school gadgets ” on me , allow me put your intellect and finger’s breadth top to catch one’s breath . You ’ll be up and run in minutes , discovering great industrial plant for your garden . This is software with great magnate while being extremely beginner - favorable , not just from a navigability perspective , but also its horticultural content .

ToMAYto or ToMAHto ?

unfailing Plantslets you search based on your USDA Zone , then break that list down by categories – trees , shrubs , vine , groundcover and lots more . For example , under “ supergrass ” for Zone 7 , I get hold nine choices and tapping on Pennisetum orientalis / Chinese Fountain Grass , I go far at a gorgeous photograph of the specimen and lots of worthful information to help me adjudicate whether or not to take in this flora into my garden : water and sun needs , size and zones ( let in Sunset ) , a pronunciation guide with Morrison ’s clear , soothing voice ( saving you overplus at hoity - toity horticultural cocktail parties ! ) , aim uses , monish ( This one rarely self - sow , but hold in your geographical zone to check that it ’s not encroaching ) reliable maintenance tips ( Cut back to 3″ in midwinter ; divide when clump becomes too large ) and similar cultivars .

Wait , wait ! This is so cool . If you decide you ca n’t go on living without at least one oriental jet grass in next twelvemonth ’s garden , there it is , glowing at the bottom of the screen , wave you to pink . Yes , “ Purchase Online ” links you to a baby’s room internet site where you may end the deal !

There are other shipway to useFoolproof Plants . “ Take it with you when you inspect the garden center , ” urge Morrison . “ baby’s room do n’t coordinate their blood line ground on size , so this way you may narrow your Leigh Hunt . ”

endearing to Look At

The photo depository library is another way to track down the right plants for the rightplace . When I ’m developing plant palettes for a garden I ’m designing and my brain is n’t cooperating , I normally reach for my impress books and begin flipping pages . Sometimes I find the right flora , but just as often I see a pic of a plant I ca n’t use but it reminds me of the one I need . That ’s what you get flipping through a colourful storage-battery grid of hi - resolution thumbnail photos until you find something you like .

If that were all this app did for less than the price of your break of day latte , it would be a marvel . But it also lets you create a “ Favorites ” inclination so you could keep track of your best nominee . postulate more feature ? How about emailing the plant life ’s information directly from the app to a fellow garden devotee . Another fillip , you’re able to put up a comment or question about a plant so Morrison can reply .

One more great feature for initiate , as well as veteran gardener , is a amazingly robust germ of useful , concise horticultural information about soil , planting basics , grunge examination , grime amending , with most articles accompanied by clear photographs demonstrating the topic .

Simple to Purchase

The easiest style I can think of to put this great prick on the smartphone of your choosing is to buy either an iTunes or Google work endowment bill of fare . Then put it in an envelope with a tone clear posit “ For the Purchase of an Uber Cool Garden Design App ” and devote a few sentence gushing aboutFoolproof Plants for Small Gardens , developed by Sutro Media . Then plunge it on your own electronic equipment and get ready for leap planting time of year .

Do you already haveFoolproof Plantson your fresh phone ? I ’d love to get wind about how you use it or any other thought you could partake with my readers . broadcast the wealth !

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