Case Studies
The book
Neil Bromhall launched Complete Gardens CD ROM Ltd in 2002.
(www.complete-gardens.co.uk).
Neil Bromhall, 50, fell into business by accident. Quite literally. When the wildlife cameraman broke both legs and an arm in a fall, he found himself unable to work "in the field". But typical of his entrepreneurial spirit, Bromhall decided to bring the field into his studio. His new focus on time-lapse photography and close-up "macro" work with plants proved successful - he was awarded an "Emmy" for his camera work on David Attenborough's "Private Life of Plants" BBC series.
Studying a succession of plants generated two by-products: a library of photographs and a surplus of plants. The photographic library had obvious commercial value but the plants were simply re-located to his garden. Not all of them thrived. "I'd learnt a lot about how plants grow from the time-lapse work", says Bromhall, "but I knew very little about how to care for the plants once in the garden, especially the need for pruning."
Many plants have evolved in response to being grazed by herbivores such that pruning is often a requirement, rather than a cosmetic luxury, for success in domestic gardens. Bromhall sought expert advice on his growing plant collection and realised that, as he'd found it difficult and time consuming to source that advice, other gardeners must have the same problem. By combining his library of digital photos with expert commentary he was able to develop an interactive suite of programmes and create a "plant identification, selection and pruning encyclopaedia". Complete Gardens CD ROM Ltd was born.
The CD-ROMs now offered by Complete Gardens allow users to identify or select garden plants by colour of leaf or flower, soil type, aspect, height and name. And by linking when the plant is at its best to a calendar function, the user can create a garden design with year-round interest. The CDs have proved popular and have had rave reviews from both gardening and computer press alike.
Bromhall has recently co-developed a version of this software on a memory card for PDAs and mobile phones. "The PDA format allows anyone to take our interactive encyclopaedia into the wild or just to the garden centre", he says. And the versatility of the system means that specific groups can be catered for: versions for allotment holders and indoor plant growers are already being planned. But can the range be extended further? "Absolutely", says Bromhall, "we haven't even started on the international versions yet."
This case study first appeared in "The Independent" in March 2008.
