When the nice folks at EasyBloom asked if I wanted to try the Easy Bloom Plant Sensor, I said, "Yes" right away because we have places around the house where we've been trying to get something to grow for 17 years.

The EasyBloom Plant Sensor is an easy to use gadget that you put in the ground in the area you want to plant, and after 24 hours, you plug it into your computer via USB it gives you suggestions to plant in that area based on sun, soil and moisture. You can even narrow the selections down to bloom color, drought resistance and plant height.

Our problem area is very, very shady and is blocked by the house and the EasyBloom returned over 20 suggestions about what we can plant there! We're looking forward to get started there, as it's pretty bare.

In addition to monitoring soil conditions, the Easy Bloom Plant Sensor can also be used to diagnose problems with plants and it also has a Plant Care Tips Library listing over 5,000 plants. Also, bonus points for Easy Bloom maintaining the EasyBloom Blog.

We really like this, and it would make a great gift for a gardener or perhaps a housewarming gift.