Garden journals … the write stuff – by Diane Morey Sitton
Whether you are a vegetable grower, flower lover, nature enthusiast, patio plantsman, plant collector or gardener-of-all-trades, you can benefit from keeping a garden journal, and there’s no better time than now to get started.
By jotting down observations, descriptions, dates, tips and tricks, you not only build a personal reference for future planning based on your own soil, climate and goals, but you have a creative outlet that welcomes sketches, stickers, photos, poetry and garden quotes.
Start by selecting a format. Notebooks and binders are easy to use, readily available and budget friendly. Use the dividers to separate categories such as plant profiles, bloom dates and food preservation details. Hard cover garden journals are available in book stores, gift shops and online. Features of these book-type publications include monthly calendars, garden layout grids, plant logs and plant tag pockets. Digital garden journals, templates and mobile apps are available online for gardeners who prefer high-tech journaling.
Once you’ve chosen a format, begin recording information. Make notes on what you see, hear or experience in the garden. Write down specific dates when plants begin to bloom. Even in winter you can record flowering times of camellia, flowering quince, paperwhites, snowbells and other cold-weather favorites. Dedicate a separate page to record temperature extremes and weather events like frost or snow. Record rainfall amounts.
Don’t forget wildlife. Winter months see increased bird activity at feeders. Use the journal to record the bird species you observe. Jot down their habits and quirks. Likewise, capture the memory of sighting a fox, fawn or other elusive creature on the journal’s pages.
When spring arrives, keep track of flowers and vegetables by sketching a garden layout. Record the dates you sowed seeds, fertilized and watered. Note the practices you used to prevent pests and disease. Record harvesting dates. If there’s an abundant harvest and you preserve your crop, make a separate page for canning/freezing/drying details that includes dates, methods of preserving and total amounts preserved.
It’s important to document successes as well as challenges. If a variety or technique didn’t work out, make a note. One way or the other, the information you record will help you plan for future gardens.
It’s also important to realize that journals are as individual as the gardeners who write them. There is no right or wrong way to journal, so whether you track your garden’s evolution in a binder or a specialized garden diary; whether you focus on raising vegetables or growing flowers; or whether you schedule time to journal or simply jot notes when the impulse stirs you, the fun of keeping a garden journal is making it as individual as your garden itself.