Plant Diggs provides a community classifieds service where plant sellers can set their own price and buyers can peruse options in their neighborhood. The app offers public listings and in-app messaging to facilitate easy transactions. Users can also access a care directory to identify the ideal criteria before purchasing a plant.

According to the National Gardening Survey in 2017, the highest spending on indoor/outdoor plants was among Baby Boomers and college graduates – but the most prevalent market force was 18- to 34-year-olds. Sales of flowers, seeds and potted plants have increased since 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This coincides with the fact that millennials are delaying home ownership and investing more money in sprucing up their environments with plants.

Many people find solace in tending to their plants but also enjoy sharing succulent clippings or garden yields. With Plant Diggs, cost conscious users can find the right Philodendron while other users decide to redistribute their Meyer lemons.

I identified two apps with extensive listing features, Craigslist and SmartPlant, that Plant Diggs would borrow functional elements from and researched their UI design patterns for insights.

Craigslist’s UI pattern integration focuses on pure functionality, helping the user easily filter searches, post their content seamlessly and with privacy controls. The social component is facilitated by digital communication prior to transactions but does not require users to develop a personal brand or profile. Plant Diggs aims to replicate this public forum ethos, fostering neighborly connection without the barrage of compulsory social media engagement.

SmartPlant’s UI integration is fairly simple. The main page shows topics by categorization in a continuous scroll. The navigation panel at the bottom of the screen leads users to an event calendar (describes monthly care), add a plant feature, messaging, and the user’s profile with an added plants directory.

Plant Diggs combines the functionality of Craigslist patterns with SmartPlant categorization and navigation patterns. The navigation panel icons lead users to the home/search screen, post, profile, plant directory, and in-app messaging features.