Journaling and scrapbooking have become the most popular crafts in the country. When you are journaling, you’re writing about people, places, and events that have taken place. When you’re scrapbooking, you’re taking pictures and preserving them in a beautiful keepsake, recording important dates, times and places. Journaling in the garden combines the two into one beautiful and informational reference guide that you’ll use for years to plan, track and enjoy your garden. We hope you will refer to it often, as your gardening experience grows and develops into the passion it tends to become.
There are a few things you should consider when putting together a garden journal. In the days of old, gardeners kept notes and sketches. But today we can incorporate so many different types of information in one convenient place – and that can be as simple as a three-ring binder with dividers that you can decorate as elaborately as a fancy scrapbook. Here are a few tips on what to include. Enjoy!
| The first thing to include in your journal is information on Last Frost Dates for your area. Also write down any specific information about the climate or microclimates in your garden. This will keep you from rushing out on the first warm, sunny day and planting, only to panic at the next frost. Remember, things like hills, trees, and structures can create various microclimates. |
| A calendar is a great addition to your journal – print one out on the computer or buy one that can fit into your binder or a pocket divider. Be sure there is room to write in planting dates for your seeds based on the last frost dates and the information on your seed packs. Also track dates of gardening tasks such as planting, fertilizing, and pruning (you can add another calendar for this purpose). Believe me, you’ll appreciate the time spent on this next year when the season starts anew! |
| Next, put in a few sheets of graph paper and draw out your garden layout. You can use one sheet for the whole garden, or separate sheets for different areas of the garden. Scale it to one foot per square, or whatever size you’re comfortable with. If you move things, be sure to either change its location on your grid or draw up a new, revised one. Remember too that some vegetables should not be planted in the same area every year, so draw up a new plan each year for these. |
| This is a good place for some photo album pages. Take pictures of your garden at different growing times, mark the dates, and enjoy the growing season. [Enjoy them in winter when the planning season begins!] |
| Add information about when, what and where you’ve planted things. If you’ve moved or divided something, include that too. |
| Now create a sheet for each of those plants, recording information about its growth habits and needs. Include information about dividing or moving for next season or next year and any problems specific to this plant (like bugs or diseases). |
| And finally, a Weekly Garden Guide to record observations, visitors, what’s blooming, what’s ready to harvest, and specific weather information for the week. Next year, you’ll see whether the drought you’re in the middle of is normal for this particular week. |
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