Garden enthusiasts and day trippers can now explore National Trust gardens whenever they want thanks to the Trust’s new, free gardens iPhone app.
The app includes listings and descriptions of all 150 National Trust gardens in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a handy browse and search facility to help users find their nearest garden. Seasonal highlights – such as autumn colour – will be flagged, as well as recommended places to visit.
Users can also view a selection of greener gardening videos, such as how to compost, and access other handy gardening hints and tips.
Developed by the Trust’s in-house team, the free app is available to download from the iTunes app store .
Special treatment
In addition to all the free garden information, users can also download an individual garden guide to one of the Trust’s most iconic gardens, Stourhead in Wiltshire, and experience its fabulous autumn colour in a totally new way.
The specially designed Stourhead guide contains:
- An interactive map of Stourhead featuring some of the most interesting plants, plus points of interest in the garden, such as the famous Palladian Bridge
- An augmented reality experience of the Stourhead garden which will identify different species of shrubs and trees, and their distance from you, even if they are slightly obscured from view
- Stunning photography of the garden
Over 20 more detailed garden guides will come on stream over the next 12 months in the same format, including Cliveden, Hidcote and Waddesdon.
Mike Calnan, Head of Gardens at the National Trust, said: “The app is a fantastic new way to explore our iconic gardens.
“It is easy to use and packed full of useful information and beautiful imagery giving users a tantalising glimpse of what they can expect.
“We hope it will encourage people to visit National Trust gardens more frequently and to explore some of our less well known properties.”
The garden app follows the successful launch of the National Trust iPhone app last year. This app is number one in the top 10 travel app chart and has a 4.5 star rating. To date it has been downloaded over half a million times.
Emily Heaver, Head of Digital Content and User Experience at the National Trust, said: “Focussing on one particular subject has allowed us to really explore the interactive possibilities of mobile apps and how they can enhance a visit or inspire people in their own gardens.
“We are lucky at the Trust to have access to teams of experts in many fields and we want that passion and knowledge to be at everyone’s fingertips. We are already excited about developing similar apps for subjects such as wildlife and art.”
Find out more here: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/iphone
Technical details include QR plant scanning
The app can be used in conjunction with the iPhone, iPod or iPad. Users of iPhone 4.0+ will be able to view high resolution graphics.
Other features include QR scannable codes allowing users with this technology to scan the code to find out more information about a particular plant, tree or area in the garden.
There is also a favourites function where you can capture and store information on a particular plant, tree or point of interest.
Information on opening times and directions is also included.
This app does not include information from the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).