Image Up Advertising & Design

By Steve Benoff Thank you Press Enterprise. Actually, I should thank Jessica Damiano of The Associated Press whose article on gardening apps was thoughtfully included in a late April edition of the Press Enterprise. Well, actually actually, I should thank a good friend who pointed out the article to me. Because, although I subscribe to the newspaper, I usually confine my daily newspaper reading to a physical Los Angeles Times and a digital New York Times. This is not to say there isn't plenty of topical news in the Press Enterprise, news my wife Martha consumes daily; it's just that the only thing I regularly rely on the Press Enterprise for is the Monday "On the Road" column. That, I do read. How else would I know that the much-vaunted Highland Springs/Interstate 10 project is just around the corner with a planned start date in 2027? This Press Enterprise piece appeared during the first month of spring, and because I didn't want to wait to let you know about it until the middle of winter, I bumped my much-anticipated column on coffee to the end of the year so this one can at least appear in the last month of spring. So, without further ado, here is a discussion of five gardening apps, all of which is cribbed from Ms. Damiano's article. She describes them as "the latest crop [good one, Damiano] of gardening apps and cellphone features [that] may surprise you with their expert gardening planning and planting advice, pest and disease troubleshooting, instant plant and insect identification, and even integrated artificial intelligence and augmented reality." Seek by iNaturalist – a straight-forward image-recognition app. "Snap a photo of a plant, insect, animal or mushroom – or even just point your camera at it – and get a taxonomic classification…, common name, seasonality…and a short description, typically pulled in from Wikipedia." From Seed to Spoon – "Scroll through the illustrated menu of fruits and vegetables, then add what you'd like to plant to your virtual 'Grow Box.'" You'll get seed-starting, transplanting, and harvesting dates customized for your location as well as frost and sun tolerance and water and fertilizer requirements. Picture is – "Snap a photo, and the app will ID your plant and provide a plethora of information about it. You'll instantly see its health assessment; scientific classification; world-wide distribution; common uses; harvesting time…, propagation methods; and sunlight, soil, water and fertilizer requirements." As if that weren't enough, you'll also get answers to frequently asked questions about the plant. Google Lens – "This tool uses image recognition technology to quickly and seamlessly identify plants, trees, shrubs, animals, and insects on the go. It also pulls up Google search results about the subject." Tap the camera icon to the right of the Google search field, take a photo, or select an image from your photo library. Apple Visual Look Up – "This AI- powered feature for iPhone and iPad will identify plants, flowers, weeds, insects, birds, and other animals depicted in any photo. Using an Apple device running iOS16 or iPadOS16, you can access the feature by tapping an image in your Photos library, then tapping the 'info' button beneath it (the letter 'I' in a circle with stars above it)." This feature also works in Mail, Messages, and Notes by lightly tapping an image to expand it and then tapping the 'info' button. Note – some of these apps are free and some start free but offer paid options. If you use an app you'd like to share with others, let me know at steve.benoff@ verizon.net. 26 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JUNE 2023 THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! The No-Longer-A-Secret Garden App "Picture is"

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