If you have plants — maybe a few, maybe an embarrassing number — you've probably tried to keep track of them properly. Notes, photos, a reminder that March is the month to tackle those roses. Simple enough, you'd think.
We thought so too. We looked, we downloaded, we tried. And kept running into the same problem.
Some apps would tell you with a photo what plant you have — helpful, except the phone camera already does that. Others would photograph your plant and tell you exactly what's wrong with it — a diagnosis in seconds, a care plan on demand. Impressive, certainly. But a plant doesn't reveal everything in a single photo, and learning to read it yourself — noticing the colour of the leaves, the weight of the soil, the way it leans toward the light — is precisely the skill that makes a good gardener. Shortcuts are tempting. They're just not always honest.
And then there were the watering apps. The ones that would say: water your Phalaenopsis every seven days.
Every. Seven. Days.
If you've ever owned an orchid, you know that's not how it works. You water it when the roots go grey. Could be a week. Could be two. It depends on the light, the season, the humidity in your kitchen. No app should be counting days on your behalf — it should be teaching you to read your plant.
The same goes for cacti. You water when the soil is completely dry. You feel it. You observe. You don't set a reminder.
Be wary of any app that tells you exactly when to water — even if you decide not to buy ours.
So I called my best friend Federico. I told him what I wanted: something to keep track of plants properly. Notes. Photos. Monthly tasks that actually made sense. A botanical library for RHS articles and YouTube videos. A journal of everything done, and when.
He said: "so let's do it."
And then the ideas started coming — one after another, at all hours, each one slightly more elaborate than the last. Federico built every single one of them patiently, meticulously, getting every detail right. There were moments I suspect he quietly wondered what on earth he'd got himself into.
We built it together. The result is Garden Keeper.
