Smartphone gardening apps from NGB members

Looking to take advantage of ever-improving technology, member organizations of the National Garden Bureau are promoting their own gardening apps for smartphones, which offer pocket-sized references for expert advice and other helpful functions.

Armitage's Greatest Perennials & Annuals

This app offers a database of more than 1000 different plants, hundreds of photos, videos, a deer browsing guide and more. Works on iOS and Androids. Users can have Dr Allan Armitage's insights, hints for success and his choices for best varieties in their pocket. The updated app delivers even more information about great plants, great garden centers and even great books in a simple-to-read format. The new version is easier to navigate and provides an entire book on one small device.

Homegrown with Bonnie's Plants

Having Homegrown with you in the garden is like having an expert right by your side. It provides a simple, intuitive way to use noted and photos to record and share garden successes and challenges. It also gives planting suggestions, growing advice, helpful reminders, a harvest tracker and more. Download here.

Garden Time Planner by Burpee

The Garden Time app from Burpee is a helpful tool for gardeners to know when to sow, transplant and expect to harvest vegetables and herbs specific to their garden region. The app automatically creates a task list to notify the user when their next sow or transplant date arrives. Included within the app is a full database of plants, local weather, and links to how-to gardening videos. Works best on Android 4.0 devices and above. Runs on both phone and tablet devices.

GrowIt! Garden Socially

GrowIt!™ lets users garden socially by finding out other people are growing in their area. Whether users want to show off their plants, identify a plant they have or find something that will work in their garden; GrowIt!™ has advice for every type of gardener.

Suntory Combo Designer

Once on the Suntory website, click on Garden Tools and select Suntory Combo for a useful tool that allows users to create stunning flower combinations from a wide range of Suntory Flowers. Also available is the Flower Crush app that lets users to decorate photos with Suntory flowers.