Remember the days of leafing through the Yellow Pages in search of help? Getting a phone number, making a call...and waiting for an expert to arrive at the doorstep. As we all know, today's technologies usher a multitude of pros through our virtual doorways each and every day.
When it comes to gardening, there are new websites and apps popping up every day to aid hopeful horticulturists. One of my favorites is called Yardmap.org. Check it out. You'll learn about your area's ecoregion--the unique combination of living and nonliving factors that set your landscape apart and determine what will flourish there (mine is Eastern Broadleaf Forest). You'll also get handy info about:
--Indigenous shrubs, trees and perennials that thrive in your region
--Pollinator guide for individual regions
--Local E-bird reports
--Ways to connect with experts in each area of the country
--Local community resources, like plant arboretums and nurseries
Another really cool feature of this site is that it enables you to connect with virtual and real neighbors alike. You draw a habitat map of your own yard and--using the satellite imagery loaded into the site--you can map your actual acreage. Every time you update your map (like planting a new shrub) you are transforming your landscape and sharing this info with a network of novices and pros connected with the citizen science project. Pretty cool, right?
One question people often ask me is, "Now that the leaves are falling, how can I determine what trees are in my area?" Few of us know each and every tree by its bark and growth habit, so take a nice autumn stroll through local parks and forests this weekend--before all the leaves drop. Bring along your smart phone, preloaded with a handy app called "Leafsnap". This app, billed as the first in a series of electronic field guides being developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution, is free and uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from photographs of their leaves. When you see a tree you can't identify, select the app, collect one of the tree's leaves, place it on a white surface and snap a photo. The app does the rest, providing you with photos of similar leaves that you can compare yours with.
The best thing about these technological advances (in my humble opinion) is that they encourage tangible teaching moments, offering us a way to get outside and enjoy all that nature has to offer, and learn a little something in the process.
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