Little Bee Gardening

A plant and gardening care companion for new and aspiring plant parents

Product

End-to-End Application

Role

UX/UI Designer

UX Research

Time

Mar 2025 - May 2025

Overview

Project introduction

Little Bee Gardening is a mobile application designed from the ground up to serve as a dedicated plant care companion, providing personalized and regionally tailored guidance. It's crafted primarily for new and intermediate gardeners who are looking to successfully cultivate plants, especially within the unique constraints of small indoor or outdoor spaces.

Problem statement

I was approached to address the frustration and confusion many aspiring and current plant enthusiasts experience, as they often lack accessible and personalized, location specific guidance, making it difficult to choose the right plants for their situation and commitment level, which often leads to unsuccessful gardening attempts, loss of confidence, as well as abandonment of the hobby.

1.0 Discovery & Research

Competative analysis

To ground Little Bee Gardening in the existing market and identify clear opportunities for differentiation, I began with a comprehensive competitive analysis focused on four direct competitors prominent in the plant care space.

Vera

Planta

Greg

Blossom

Significant gaps identified

  • Lack of Regional Relevance

  • Limited Scope limiting use cases

  • Reactive focus

  • Minimal Personalization

  • Generic User Experience

Opportunities

  • Hyper Personalized, Region Based Guidance

  • Support for Diverse Gardening Aspirations

  • Proactive Seasonal Planning

  • Customized Onboarding

View full competative anaysis

User Interviews

To better understand real-world plant care habits, challenges, and emotional motivations, I conducted five user interviews.

Participant Overview

I interviewed five participants who represented the target audience: a mix of self identified beginner and intermediate gardeners interested in indoor or small space gardening.

Methodology

Five interviews were conducted both in person and remote using a guided script, with questions focused on their current plant care practices, tools used, pain points, emotional responses to gardening successes and failures, and the kind of support they wished they had.

View full interview guide

Key Themes & Insights

Uncertainty Across Experience Levels

All participants expressed confusion in at least one core area: watering, sunlight, nutrients, pruning, or seasonal timing.

Need for Structure & Guidance

Both beginners and intermediates want more routine, feedback loops, and clearer instructions.

Emotional Impact of Failure

Plant failures caused frustration, loss of confidence, and sometimes abandonment of the hobby.

Personalization Matters

Space, lifestyle, and environmental differences made generic advice less helpful.

Affinity Mapping

POV’s / HMW’s

User Personas

User Flows

Key insights

2.0 Define

Project Goals

Solution Generation

Information Architecture

3.0 Develop

Low-Fidelity wireframes

Mid-Fidelity wireframes

Branding

High-fidelity alpha Test

Usability testing

4.0 Deliver

Empty State Dashboard

The initial page shown to the user upon logging in for the first time, with clear actionable ways to progress to adding your first plant.

Adding first plant

Easily scan a plant you already own, or search for plants that you have or want to plant.

Detailed plant information made easy to understand

Easily scannable plant information when selecting a plant makes it comfortable for beginning users to see the commitment level and difficulty of the undertaking.

Location specific recommendations

Plant recommendations based on specific plant location settings, geographic information, as well as synergies with what is already planted.