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These days, there really is an app that can help you with anything, and the garden isn't immune to this phenomenon. There is a wide range of useful tools out there that can help with plant identification, soil analysis and planning. These apps make it easier to tackle the thorny world of garden design. Whether you have a city garden, cottage garden or small garden and are looking to make a change to its structure, style or planting, these tools can aid you.
Grow Your Own
Who better to turn to for advice than the RHS? The experts there have created an app to help users plant, cultivate and harvest fruit, vegetables and herbs, with down-to-earth advice and useful tools to help you stay on top of garden tasks.
Leafsnap
As the name gives away, this app can be used to identify a plant based on its leaves. A vast library of close up, detailed shots will help knowledge-thirsty gardeners grow their database of plants, via an app developed by the University of Maryland, Smithsonian Institute and Columbia University.
My Soil
This app analyses your soil to work out its conditions and then give advice as to which plants will do best in your garden, ensuring perfect planting and full blooms every time. It's an essential for novices, or anyone looking to plant a particular species but unsure how it will fare.
Garden Plan Pro
Anyone looking to grow their own vegetables, plant a herb garden or harvest some fruits should look to Garden Plan Pro; simply plot your garden into it and then you can start planning out the planting areas. The app gives top tips for crop rotation and analyses weather local to you for optimum planting and harvesting dates.
Smartplant
So you've planted your garden full of glorious flora and fauna – now what do you do? Enter Smartplant, an app that can help identify plants but more importantly, you can use it to create a care calendar for what's in your garden, giving personalised advice on how to help everything flourish. Users can also chat with experts for further tips.
iScape
Channel your inner landscape gardener by using AR or uploading an image of your outdoor space and then visualising the end result by adding all the design elements from flowerbeds to paving and plants. A brilliant app for anyone wanting to DIY the garden renovation, or collaborating with a team as all the plans are shareable.
Home Outside
Better suited to those with more experience, Home Outside lets you mock up a design in the same way a professional would, using hand-drawn elements rather than augmented reality. It's a brilliant tool and extremely useful when planning colour throughout the garden.
Home Design 3D Outdoor & Garden
Another good app for design planning, Home Design 3D lets you plot out the dimensions of your space and build from there, adding everything from sheds to plants and furniture. Be aware that the free version does not let you save designs, so it's worth the in app purchases if you plan on creating your final design in it.
Garden Tags
Garden Tags is the app to use once your garden is planted. As well as plant identification, it has growing advice and plant care instructions so you can log every plant and be sure you're caring for it properly.
Written by Charlotte McCaughan-Hawes.
This article originally appeared on House & Garden UK.
