It has been a sunny spring in London, the perfect time to explore the overlap between gardening and science in the Avanade Intelligent Garden at , which closed on 24 May.
Each tree in this urban forest sported an arboreal 鈥渟martwatch鈥�, which tracked its growth, lean angle and more. An AI dashboard monitored the trees, ready to flag any warning signs.
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This is no gimmick: studies suggest perhaps the majority of urban trees die 15 years or less after planting. We know trees benefit air quality, wildlife and well-being, but many are stressed and poorly tended. Are smart tree monitors the answer? Take a look as the garden relocates to later this year.
Gardening technology isn鈥檛 new. At the British Library鈥檚 new exhibition, I marvelled at a rare Wardian case (a mini-greenhouse used to ship plants to Victorian England) and at a 600-year-old predecessor of a watering can. Shown above is a 17th-century painting of a sunflower featured in the exhibition.
