From mystery plants to planting plans, AI can be surprisingly useful in the garden

Gardening has an interesting habit of generating questions.

When should I prune this?

What could I plant in that shady corner?

Why didn't my tomatoes do very well?

Which plants would work in this soil?

What should I be doing in the garden this month?

Instead of searching dozens of websites, try having a conversation with AI.

Give it some context

Rather than asking:

What should I plant?

try:

Act as a gardening assistant. I live in Essex in the UK. I have a small garden with a border that receives morning sun but is shaded during the afternoon. I'd like colourful plants that aren't particularly difficult to maintain. Suggest some possibilities and explain why they might suit the position.

Notice how much more information we've provided.

Location.

Light.

Garden size.

What we want.

How much maintenance we're prepared to do.

That gives AI something useful to work with.

Create a monthly gardening list

You could also ask:

Create a simple gardening checklist for this month for a typical UK garden. Divide it into jobs for flowers, lawn, vegetables and general maintenance.

Then ask questions about anything you're unsure of.

Don't treat AI as the final authority

Gardening advice varies according to weather, location, soil and the particular plant.

So for anything important, check specialist information.

But AI is extremely useful for generating ideas and helping you know what questions to investigate next.

Try this

Think of one part of your garden you'd like to improve.

Describe it to ChatGPT.

Tell it:

where you live + how much sun it receives + what you'd like to achieve.

Then ask for ideas.

That's the basis of the My Gardening Expert prompt from AI Made Simple for the Over 50s.

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Keep learning. Keep experimenting. And don't worry about getting everything right first time.

Tony Phelps
Author of AI Made Simple for the Over 50s