4 Nature Apps for Garden Planning and Care

By Rachel Wisinski | Photo by Lauren Harrigan

Whether you’re out on a nature walk or working in your own backyard, digital technology has made it easier than ever to identify and keep track of the plants, flowers and other vegetation you encounter from day to day, using just a quick photo. Here are four smartphone apps and websites to try.

iNaturalist

Cost: Free

Supported platforms: Android, iOS, web

Key features: This app makes it easy to share and confirm your findings with other users, including amateur and professional naturalists.

PlantSnap

Cost: Free for 10 identifications per day

Supported platforms: Android, iOS

Key features: This app has a well- organized taxonomy, including more than 600,000 plants in its searchable databases. It allows you to zoom in on photo details, offers gardening tips and advice for caring for plants, and makes it easy to connect with a community of plant lovers. The “Explore” function also allows you to use SnapMap to locate identified plants anywhere in the world.

FlowerChecker

Cost: Free to install, $1 per correct identification

Supported platforms: Android, iOS

Key features: This app uses a team of experts who receive a photo, analyze it and post its identification. It can also ID types of moss, lichen and fungi. Great for hard-to-identify plants.

NatureID

Cost: Free to use with unlimited plant identifications; full access requires a subscription.

Supported platforms: iOS

Key features: In addition to identifying a plant, this app provides recommendations on how to optimize soil, water and fertilization; set the appropriate temperature conditions; and more. Content is created with input from expert botanists. It can recognize over 15,000 natural objects with up to 95% accuracy, including trees, mushrooms, rocks, minerals and insects.

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