If You Can’t Recall What, When and Where You Planted, Your Garden Journal Will!
Every gardener has thought it: “This beautiful plant is unforgettable. I’ll definitely remember everything about it.” Then the busy months pass, winter ends and the first shoots of green begin to shoot. You sort through your basket of plant tags, and the only thing growing is confusion.
Now imagine opening your garden diary, and in seconds, knowing that this clump of new green will become the 18-inch-tall Shasta Daisies you planted last June, alongside the 14-inch coreopsis from two years ago.
What Does a Garden Journal Look Like?
The answer is, “Whatever.” Some gardeners prefer to record information in writing, others respond to visual prompts. Maybe you arrange things in chronological order. Maybe you draw a rough map of each bed, and write in which plants are where.
One of the most popular choices is the 3-ring binder, because of the flexibility to add and delete pages as necessary. If you’re uber organized (and why wouldn’t you be?), you can divide information into tabbed sections. You can keep plant tags in a plastic zippered page, or a pocket page. The variety of purposes a journal serves may surprise you. For example:
- Maybe you keep receipts and track spending, to compare to previous years?
- List which tasks should be done when, and in what order.
- What was the name of that fertilizer that worked like magic a few seasons ago?
- Keep a “wish list” – photos from magazines and clippings about plants you may want to add to the mix.
A Picture Perfect Plan
A “garden folder” in your phone’s photo program is a great idea. When your memory needs a jog, just call up that photo you took at the end of last season. And look, those Black-Eyed Susans were much taller than you thought. And that’s where that bare spot is, just waiting to be filled in.
Gather it all in your garden diary, and the end result will be an up-to-date, all-in-one-place, portable resource – one that will serve you well for seasons to come.
Once you discover the value of a written record, you’ll wonder how you ever grew without one. And without a great garden hose by Teknor Apex, you’ll wonder the same thing!
