Climate Light Ltd

Biotechnology in horticulture

Major Upgrades to the GardenAdvice AI and Helene App

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GardenAdvice has recently completed a significant upgrade to its AI systems, marking an important step forward in how gardeners and growers access expert, locally relevant advice. These updates focus on two closely linked developments: enhancements to the GardenAdvice AI platform and major new capabilities within the GardenAdvice AI app, Helene, developed in collaboration with Climate Light Limited.

Together, these upgrades move GardenAdvice AI beyond general advice tools and firmly into data-driven, condition-aware gardening and crop production support.

Smarter, More Context-Aware GardenAdvice AI

The latest generation of GardenAdvice AI builds on more than 20 years of horticultural knowledge, now combined with advanced AI technologies and real-world environmental data. Rather than offering generic answers, the system increasingly adapts its guidance based on:

  • Local climate and weather patterns
  • Soil type, structure, and moisture levels
  • Seasonal conditions
  • Known plant behaviour and growth cycles
  • Garden-specific or site-specific constraints

This allows the AI to provide advice that is practical, timely, and rooted in real gardening conditions, whether the user is managing a small domestic garden or planning food production on a much larger scale.

The GardenAdvice AI continues to operate as a two-way system, asking follow-up questions where necessary to refine recommendations, mirroring the way a professional gardener would approach problem-solving.

Helene App: Advanced Identification and Diagnosis

One of the most important recent upgrades is to the GardenAdvice AI app Helene. The app now brings together several advanced capabilities in a single system:

Plant Identification

Helene can accurately identify plants from photographs, analysing leaf shape, flowers, growth habit, bark, and colour. Once identified, the app provides detailed information on care, growth requirements, and seasonal management.

Pest and Disease Identification

Helene now also identifies common pests and diseases from images and user descriptions. This includes early signs of problems that are often missed until damage becomes severe.

Treatment Recommendations Based on Local Conditions

Crucially, Helene does not stop at identification. Recommended treatments are generated based on a range of contextual factors, including:

  • Local climate and recent weather patterns
  • Soil conditions and moisture levels
  • Time of year and growth stage of the plant
  • Likely effectiveness of treatments under current conditions

This ensures that advice is not only accurate but also appropriate for the user’s specific location and situation, helping to reduce unnecessary interventions and improve outcomes.

You can find the most recent update to Helene and the supporting GardenAdvice AI systems here:
https://gardenadvice.co.uk/gardening-tips/welcome-to-gardenadvicecouk-gardening-tips-and-advice-database/

AI Meets Biotech: Mycorrhiza Research and Data Integration

Alongside these user-facing upgrades, an important development is taking place behind the scenes. The AI technologies developed by Climate Light Limited are now being merged with ongoing biotechnological research into mycorrhizal fungi.

Mycorrhiza play a critical role in plant health, nutrient uptake, soil structure, and resilience to stress. By combining AI-managed garden and crop data with biological research, GardenAdvice and Climate Light are working towards:

  • More precise recommendations for mycorrhizal use
  • Improved crop performance in home gardens
  • Scalable systems suitable for commercial horticulture and agriculture
  • Better resilience to changing climate conditions

The integration of AI data with biotech research allows patterns to be identified that would be difficult to detect through traditional observation alone, supporting both sustainable gardening and larger-scale food production.

From Home Gardens to Agriculture

What makes this development particularly significant is its scalability. The same AI systems that help identify a pest on a garden rose or diagnose a nutrient issue in a vegetable patch are being adapted to support:

  • Improved yields
  • Reduced water and input use
  • More targeted biological interventions
  • Long-term soil health

This positions GardenAdvice AI and Helene not just as gardening tools, but as part of a broader move towards intelligent, data-led horticulture and agriculture.

A Foundation for the Future

These recent upgrades represent more than incremental improvements. They reflect a strategic direction in which:

  • AI supports, rather than replaces, professional judgement
  • Advice is grounded in real conditions, not averages
  • Digital tools connect directly with biological systems and research

As GardenAdvice and Climate Light continue to develop these technologies, the focus remains clear: better decisions, healthier plants, and more resilient growing systems, from private gardens through to large-scale production.

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