Winter is officially here, as was visible from the slew of snowflakes we were greeted with this morning. While an in-home greenhouse would provide a warm, fresh retreat for the winter months, it’s not realistic for most, especially those who lack a green-thumb. But what about a miniature garden that operates like a living Tamagotchi? London-based designer Samuel Wilkinson has created a flora terrarium that links to your smart phone or iPad, where an app is used to control the water, climate and nutrients reaching the plants and flowers inside. LED lights replicate daylight inside the Biome and it is capable of housing different types of arrangements from a variety of environments – tropical, desert and even herb garden. The idea behind the design is one of “digital-downtime”; it encourages smart phone users to find alternative uses for their technology and consider a slower way of life. “The control and nurturing of a real mini eco-system takes patience and care, contrasting with the immediacy of messaging or tweeting that is so characteristic of the smart phone generation,” reads the designer’s description of the product. Smart phone and iPad users will slowly transform their tech-savvy thumbs into green ones.