The Gardeners Companion

Gardener's Companion — Complete AI Plant Care Business

💚 Tagline

Turn Your Phone Into a Plant Expert — Identify any plant, diagnose diseases, and unlock nature's medicinal secrets.

🎯 What It Does
Gardener's Companion is a mobile-first PWA that helps home gardeners at every level:

📷 Instant Plant ID — Snap a photo, get an AI identification in seconds

🩺 Disease Diagnosis — Describe symptoms, receive treatment plans

🌿 Medicinal Preparations — Tea, tincture & salve guides for each plant

🍵 Culinary Uses — Discover which plants are safe and delicious to eat

🌱 My Garden — Track your personal plant collection

💬 Care Guides — Light, water, soil, and seasonal tips

💰 Revenue Model (Freemium)

Tier Price What's Included

Free $0 5 plant IDs/month, 3 plants, basic diagnosis, preparation previews
Premium $5/mo Unlimited IDs, full plant DB, deep medicinal guides, complete preparation instructions (tea/tincture/salve)
MRR Scenarios:

3% conversion @ 10K users = $1,500/mo
5% conversion @ 25K users = $7,500/mo
5% conversion @ 50K users = $12,500/mo

🔧 Tech Stack

Frontend: React 18 + Vite (mobile-first, 158KB JS bundle)
Backend: Node.js + Express REST API
Database: SQLite (auto-seeded with 5 medicinal plants)
Auth: Token-based sessions with bcrypt passwords
AI: Plant.id API integration (optional)
Deployment: Single npm install && npm run dev startup

📱 PWA Features

Installable on iOS and Android home screens
Service worker for offline caching
Apple touch icons included
Works without internet once installed

🌿 Plant Database

Seeded plants: Aloe Vera, Basil, Lavender, Tomato, Snake Plant

Each plant includes care needs, diseases, medicinal uses + tea/tincture/salve guides, culinary uses, and toxicity warnings.

✅ Why This Business Is Valuable

Proven upgrade trigger — Users hit the 5-ID limit at the exact moment they've found value Recurring revenue — MRR model valued at 12-24x by serious buyers PWA-first — No app store fees, instant global distribution Expandable DB — SQLite, simple to add more plants Plant.id API ready — One API key swap for production accuracy Medicinal angle — Strong differentiation in a growing wellness niche