Garden Guru

Garden Guru

Inspiration

"The amount the plant is watered affects its ability to function and remove CO2, in the same way as with people - if you're dehydrated or have drunk too much water you will not function as well," Curtis says. (Are Your Houseplants Bad for the Environment?, BBC) Using the Garden Guru app, users can ensure that they are properly caring for their plants and actually contributing to a better environmental impact.

What it does

We have created a comprehensive database that a user can access in either of two ways: Input the name of the house plant Upload a photo of the plant and Garden Guru will use AI to determine what plant you have Output: Watering frequency Soil conditions Pot size Our innovative image recognition functionality ensures that a user can properly care for their plant without an extensive botanical knowledge or experience, which makes the app more accessible to all.

How we built it

Open AI API GPT 4o Supports image processing csv file containing plant care information database

Challenges we ran into

Initially, the program was unable to directly access the image content, which prevented it from using the image processing functionality to suggest a plant type. We first attempted to switch to a manual description approach, where users would type in details about the plant. However, we ultimately decided to integrate a GPT-based AI API to analyze the image and provide suggestions more effectively. Improving the GUI to make it more user-friendly and intuitive sometimes interfered with the underlying code functionality. Balancing a clean, accessible interface with proper feature integration required careful adjustments to avoid breaking the app’s core logic.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re especially proud of our AI-powered image processing feature. We trained the model using images of various plants, enabling it to recognize key features and identify plant types. Based on its prediction, the app can then recommend personalized care instructions—making plant care smarter and more accessible.

What we learned

We learned how to integrate AI-based image processing into a project and gained hands-on experience building a functional app using Tkinter. This helped us understand both backend logic and user interface design. We implemented a diverse and comprehensive plant database that stores detailed information about a wide range of plant species. Each entry includes attributes such as watering frequency, soil requirements, ideal pot size, and other essential care details. The database was carefully structured to support efficient lookups and compatibility with our AI's plant recognition results.

What's next for Garden Guru

In the future, we plan to expand our database to include additional care factors such as seasonal variations in care, and fertilizer recommendations. These enhancements will provide users with even more personalized and accurate plant care guidance, helping them adapt their routine as conditions change throughout the year.