January/February Theme: The Ins and Outs of Garden Journaling

Winter. I’m sitting by my computer with my morning cup of java while watching the snow gently drift down to the ground. Gardeners can feel trapped in the winter months because they long to be outside digging in the dirt. It’s Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday and later I plan to take a self-guided MLK history walk at Goodyear Metro Park. Since we can’t get out and actually garden, it’s a great time to spend indoors planning our gardens. Whether you grow vegetables, herbs or flowers, it’s wise to keep a garden journal.

I’ve kept a garden journal for more years than I can remember. Year around, I reference information I have gathered, update my yard’s landscape blueprints, add photos, save gardening articles, and document gardening successes as well as failures. It helps to have a plan and place to organize your thoughts, record your observations, and prepare for the next planting season.

My garden journal is simply an oversized 3-ring binder, which is literally bursting at the seams (see photo evidence below). Since my handwriting is atrocious, I type the notes and update them yearly. I have tabs for Annuals, Composting, Expenses, Gardening Crafts, Gardening Trips, Houseplants, My Yard, Organic Gardening, Perennials, Soil Testing, and even a Wish List. Besides the journal, I have hand drawn landscape blueprints of my entire yard - front, sides, and back. These are done in pencil so they can be easily erased and revised. Honestly, I’ve outgrown my first journal so I have a separate journal for Wildflowers and another for Herbs.

My best advice is to record and document your garden as you deem best for yourself. If you are artistic, you can include drawings of your plants or even custom-make your own journal. If you are less creative, you can find free garden journal worksheets online that you can print off and use. Whether you make your own journal, purchase one, use a gardening journal app or just write notes in a spiral notebook – it’s all good. This should be something useful and fun not a chore.

Garden Journal Hints

Include a Plant Hardiness Zone Chart with spring and fall frost dates.
Record what and where you planted something (trust me, you’ll forget year-over-year what you planted and where you planted it).
Include a calendar so you can log dates when to purchase seeds or plants, when to plant or transplant (indoor and outdoor), and when to fertilize, prune or weed.
Celebrate the gift of a plant with a reminder; i.e., Red Hot Poker Plant (Kniphofia uvaria) from Chris in 2012, etc.
Keep track of expenses and purchases. Often plants are refundable up to a year. So, keep the dated receipt in case it doesn’t survive the first winter. Also, the quality of the purchase should be recorded for future reference. I’ve made notes about inadequate compost that I’ll purchased in the past so I don’t buy from the company again.
Notate pros and cons, which plants thrived and which plants struggled on any given year.
Take photographs of your prized plants – they’ll bring a smile to your face during the long winter months.
If using a 3-ring binder, use plastic inserts to protect your notes and photos from getting dirty..
Track pest and disease issues and what treatments you tried. Some gardeners even record weather patterns..
Use grid or graph paper to help you draft out the design for your landscape. A basic garden sketch tool and ruler will come in handle for your blueprints.
Write a Wish List – featuring plants you’ve been wanting to try to grow. I’ve had Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus) on my Wish List for years and I finally purchased one last year. Keep your fingers crossed that it will be brilliant this spring!

More Winter Gardening Ideas

Listen to a gardening podcast. I’ve been listening to gardening podcasts with Stacey Murphy who offers all kinds of tips and advice for successful vegetable gardens.
Study those seed catalogs.
Save money for seeds and plants!
Go to Google Earth and get an aerial view of your property.
Read a book about gardening tips.
Share you gardening knowledge with others (remember my tagline, “The More You Grow!”).
Join an online gardening club or organize a community garden.
Dream and daydream about an afternoon working in your sunny garden.

In conclusion, this is the perfect time of year to start your very own garden journal. Believe it or not, spring is coming and whether you plant edibles or ornamentals, having a garden journal will help you learn and grow as a gardener. Just like your favorite weeder, your garden journal will become a valuable tool. By keeping a garden journal, the whole gardening experience will be more satisfying and successful.

Happy Gardening!

Yoga Judith