Apps offer advice on attracting wildlife, when to plant

  • Wednesday, August 28, 2013 12:29pm
  • Life

Your smartphone is probably always handy, even out in the garden, so why not pull it out of your pocket and make it do some work?

Birds &Blooms, a national bird and gardening magazine, has an app for that.

In fact, it has lots of apps, whether you’re seeking tips on attracting garden-friendly wildlife, looking for native plants specific to your area or trying to identify an interesting volunteer species.

The magazine is also available online at www.birdsandblooms.com, or you can download it for iPad, Kindle, Nook, iPhone and Google Play.

Here are the top 10 app recommendations for gardeners from Birds &Blooms.

Herald staff

50 FLOWERS: Birds &Blooms app, with bloom options for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.

$1.99

www.birdsandblooms.com/app

BIRDS PRO: Identification guide with integrated picture and sound quizzes, professional photos, and more than 460 calls and songs.

$12.99, Google Play

BIRD Q&A: Get your birding questions answered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

$2.99, iTunes

FLOWER GARDEN: Grow common plants and send them to your friends in this amusing little game.

Free or $2.95, iTunes

GARDEN COMPASS: Have a mystery plant? Email your photo and the Garden Compass experts will tell you what it is.

Free, iTunes

THE GARDEN TIME PLANNER: Burpee seed company tells you when to sow, transplant and harvest veggies and herbs by keeping a task list.

Free, iTunes and Google Play

PETERSON BIRDS POCKET EDITION: New to the app world, at a bargain price for a pocket field guide.

99 cents, iTunes

LANDSCAPER’S COMPANION: An easy-to-use, comprehensive plant guide, complete with high-quality images for your iPad or iPhone.

$6.99, iTunes

AUDUBON BUTTERFLIES: Track and share the butterflies you spot with your friends.

$4.99, iTunes, Google Play

WHAT’S IN MY GARDEN?: Have fun keeping track of all the plants in your own back yard.

$1.99, iTunes

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