Google's new visual recognition app can identify flowers you don't know

Google (GOOGL, GOOG) CEO Sundar Pichai announced a visual recognition product called the Google Lens on Wednesday at its Google I/O developer conference.

The Lens feature, which will be used on phones, sees what the viewer sees through the camera and provides information about the object. In a demonstration, Pichai showed the app correctly identifying a flower, inputting a Wi-Fi router’s password and SSID from the sticker, and giving a restaurant’s Google rating and reviews all when the phone camera was pointed at each object. Google wants to pre-empt your googling.

Google Lens follows other visual recognition products put out recently by other tech companies. Amazon, for instance, has had a product recognition tool built into its shopping app to allow users to see how much the company will undercut brick-and-mortar competitors for the same item. Samsung’s Bixby app can scan a photo of a business card and save the information as a contact, something more aligned with Google’s new capabilities.

Owering all this is new hardware from Google, Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, which are behind Google’s AI training system. Users will never see these “deep learning” systems, however, because Google is all about the cloud doing the heavy lifting it takes for a computer to identify real-life stuff through its camera.

As the HBO show “Silicon Valley” illustrated on a recent episode with its “food Shazam” app, getting a camera to identify real-life stuff from a variety of angles, lighting situations, and with different phone cameras is quite the computational challenge. This time, however, Google isn’t buying these processors from Nvidia (NVDA), but is making its own, optimized to its software. (Nvidia was Yahoo Finance’s company of the year in 2016.)

For More Information: Ethan Wolff-Mann

Perennial flowers that bloom all summer

Long-blossoming perennials make life simple for nursery workers who

hunger for shading all late spring. Undoubtedly, through cautious choice

and arranging, consistent succession of blossom can be accomplished

utilizing a large number of plants that bloom for however a concise

time. Yet, having enduring blossoms that sprout all late spring gives us

more space for mistake. Simply plant these workhorses in a place where

they will be glad and let them take the necessary steps for you.

Plants for Europe launches new ranunculus at National Cut Flower Centre - Caroline PLouff

Plants for Europe's Graham Spencer says there has been supermarket interest after he used the National Cut Flower Centre to promote breeder John Fielding's new robust Rococo Ranunculus.

Rococo Ranunculus has been bred in England by Fielding and launched last week at an event at the National Cut Flower Center organized by Plants for Europe.

Spencer said: "The Rancorous event was very successful. We had visitors from cut flower growers, cut flower wholesalers and a major supermarket. We also had visitors from growers producing plants for gardens centers, a major mail order house as well as some garden writers/journalists. We are delighted with the outcome and will now move the project to the next stage, with further production trials and building stock up for a launch anticipated for 2019.

"Visitors were particularly impressed by the robust flower stems that support the flowers, the resistance of the flowers to damage, and the large number of flowers per stem. All four colors displayed received a positive response, with the pink candidate (seedling 2009-21) receiving the most favorable comments. Vase life trials are ongoing, with initial indications suggesting that a vase life around 14 days is typical.

"The trial at the Cut Flower Center has been an excellent opportunity to show these new varieties to interested parties – it has been very helpful for the independent breeder, John Fielding, who does not have extensive facilities of his own. We are very grateful to the Cut Flower Center for their support."

For More Information :  Matthew Apple

Caroline Plouff - Fresh Flowers Online

I created this video simply because I love nature. I always found the flower's time lapses fabulous, but most of the time they are made with a black background. Then I told myself to make a beautiful flower's time lapse with colored and vintage backgrounds. To me, the 60's / 70's is the most representative period for the flowers. This is a way to pay tribute to them. By Caroline Plouff

Caroline Plouff | CEOs of Flowers, Enterprise hospitals switch places

Two Wiregrass hospitals have new CEOs after a change that involved a job swap.

Suzanne Woods, CEO at Flowers Hospital since 2011, has taken over as CEO at Medical Center Enterprise, while Heath Phillips leaves that position in Enterprise to take on the CEO role at Flowers. No reason for the job changes was given.
Woods worked her way up to CEO after 22 years with Flowers, where she worked as an administrative resident, medical staff coordinator, vice president of professional services and chief operating officer before becoming CEO.
According to information released by the hospital, Flowers grew during Woods’ time as CEO, with expansion of surgical services and the establishment of a multi specialty practice with more than 30 physicians.

Woods is a Dothan native and graduated Northview High School in 1989. She holds a bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development from Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree in health administration and a certificate in gerontology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Phillips had previously worked as chief operating officer at Flowers Hospital in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, Phillips was promoted to CEO at Medical Center Enterprise. As the new CEO at Flowers, Phillips will continue to oversee the work to expand the neurology and neurosurgery services at the hospital.

Flowers Hospital is a 235-bed facility that employees around 1,300 people.

The news comes days after the hospital announced job cuts. Flowers Hospital typically rates high in customer satisfaction as well as health benchmarks used to grade hospitals. The hospital is in the midst of a class action lawsuit resulting from the theft of patient records.

For More Information:- Staff Reports

Easy annuals for the cut-flower garden

While enjoying the early display of color from our early spring bulbs, many of us are dreaming of the bursts of color that our flowering plants will bring us this summer. While perennials provide color and flowers year after year, annuals can also provide flowers for our indoor bouquets all summer long.

 Some annuals such as petunias are better for landscape purposes. Good cut flower types are those that will hold well in a vase for several days. Here are several that you should be able to grow with relative ease.

Zinnia

The workhorse of any annual cut flower garden is zinnia. The industry standard cultivar is “Benary Giant” which can be many vibrant colors. There are several other cultivars such as “Oklahoma,” “Queen” and “Envy,” as well as landscape types that are low growing with somewhat smaller flowers.

Zinnia seeds can be started inside and transplanted, or direct-seeded. The seedlings are sensitive to cold temperatures so if planted early, ensure protection if cold weather occurs. Zinnia will flower all summer long if the plant is regularly harvested, but the plants eventually do fall prey to powdery mildew toward the end of the season, so two or three plantings throughout the summer can ensure bright, healthy blooms into the fall.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are a summer staple that those of us who grow flowers cannot do without. It is important to know a few things about sunflowers when choosing which cultivar to grow. Some cultivars like “Joker” are branching, which will produce many flowers, while others are single-stems such as any of the “Procut” series.

“Mammoth Grey Stripe” is a very tall cultivar that will form large heads, and “Teddy Bear” is a miniature that is great for growing with kids.

While sunflowers can be transplanted, they will grow better if they are direct seeded (½-inch deep). They can be planted after the danger of frost has passed and will not germinate in cold soil.

Statice

Statice is one of the most popular flowers in dried arrangements, but it is also used in fresh arrangements (particularly dark purple types). Statice can come in many colors.

“QIS Series” is a popular cultivar mix. The plant will grow in a low rosette and the stems will arise from the rosette. It will flower from spring to summer and will produce more than one cutting, although the first cutting will have the most vigorous stems. Statice is easily started from seed and transplanted in the garden.

Gomphrena

Gomphrena, also known as globe amaranth, is a small flower that adds a little pop of color to the garden. It is low growing and will produce flower heads that resemble clover and are 1 to 2 inches in size. “QIS Series,” “Strawberry Fields” and “Bicolor Rose” are a few of the cultivars that are on the market.

Like statice, gomphrena is better grown from seed and then transplanted after the danger of frost has passed. Harvesting the stems regularly will trigger the plant to form more. The flowers are easily dried by harvesting the stems and hanging them upside down in a dark, dry place with air movement (such as from garage rafters).

Celosia

While not a traditional flower with petals, celosia plants form a head at the end of the stem that can take many forms and/or colors. For example, Celosia argentea var. agentea cultivars, (also known as crested cockscomb) will form feathery plumed seed heads, whereas Celosia agentea var. cristata cultivars form a seed head that resembles a brain.

It is important to know what species you are growing because some species will benefit from being pinched, while pinching other cultivars will result in the loss of the seed head.

Celosia grows very easily from seed and can be grown from transplants or direct-seeded in the garden. Many varieties are hybrids, meaning that if you save seeds it is possible that you will not get the same plant back.

Dahlia

Of all garden cut flowers, dahlias are my favorite. Ranging in size, color and form from petite miniatures to showy dinner-plate size, dahlias are sure to add pizazz to any garden.

There are actually 10 different types of dahlias. Tropical in origin, dahlias are treated as annuals in our region. The plant grows from tubers (similar to potatoes) which should be planted 4 to 6 inches deep toward the end of May. Some gardeners are comfortable planting earlier but be aware that the tubers will rot if the soil is cold and wet.

When the plant is about 6 inches tall, pinch back to the first or second set of leaves to encourage the plant to “bush out.” Dahlias are usually large plants and the weight of the plant and flowers can cause them to topple so it is important that they are staked. Cut back the flowers to encourage continual blooming.

Dahlias will flower from July to frost. Once a hard frost has occurred, wait about a week to cut the plant back. Carefully dig the tuber clump and clean it.

The clump can be separated at this time, but you need to ensure that when separating that you leave a part of the stem on the tuber that has an eye (it resembles a small, raised bump on the stem). The plant will not grow next year without one. Store the tubers in a cool, dark area in a bag with some vermiculite or sawdust over the winter.

For More Information:- Jacqueline Kowalski

Here's how to save on flowers this Mother's Day

 

No one deserves a beautiful bouquet more than mom. Known as the Uber of flowers, Bloom That delivers flowers under 90 minutes in New York, LA and San Francisco and delivers the next day nationwide. Whether you always find yourself sending last-minute gifts or are looking for most convenient way to send flowers on a budget, Bloom That is worth checking out.

AOL.com has the scoop on an exclusive offer so you can save 20% on your first order! Enter the code MDAY20 at checkout through May 13th and make sure to select the delivery dates between May 8th to May 15th. With an endless assortment of handcrafted arrangements, mix things up this Mother's Day and do NOT miss this limited-time deal.

For More Information: - Laura Galvan