A garden journal is not only a reference book, it can be a beautiful yearly reminder for the garden lover of each year’s harvest and gardening process. Gardeners can use journals to learn from year to year what worked and didn’t work, when the best planting times are, and what’s worth planting.
Where to Keep a Garden Journal
Putting together a garden journal can be as easy as turning to the computer for help. Several online journal and blogging sites offer up free solutions to setting up a free online Journal. Check out livejournal.com or blogger to set up a journal anyone can view, or change the privacy setting to restrict the view to just one person or a few.
Keep a journal in paper form by printing out free garden journal templates form Homestead Harvest or Gardens and Crafts.
For arts and crafts lovers, a garden journal can be created using a scrapbook and scrapbooking tools. Include pressed flowers, clippings and photos for a memorable garden book.
Journal Categories
Divide up the journal in categories for easy access to important information. Categories may include tools and supplies, garden photos, reference material, vendor/supplier contacts, expenses, recipes, garden output.
Calendar – Track important dates like when to plant certain items, harvest dates, dates of bad weather and fertilization or watering schedules.
Tools and supplies –keep a list of supplies on hand and a list of supplies to buy. Keeping a running inventory can prevent duplicate expenditures each year when shopping for new tools.
Garden photos – keep photos of the garden each year to remember past gardens and inspire future gardens.
Reference materials – pull out pages from garden magazines, list favorite gardening books, shows, keep notes from friends with ideas, any miscellaneous information can go here.
Vendor/supplier contacts – keep an address book of favorite stores, catalogs, web sites and other seed and material suppliers.
Expenses – prepare a garden budget and keep a list of expenditures to track costs.
Recipes - Remember favorite produce and garden fresh recipes by keeping them with other garden information.
Garden output – Track garden output and compare to garden expenses at the end of the year to see what’s worth planting next year.
Keeping a garden journal can be a lovely remembrance and a fun way to keep track of a gardening hobby. Journals can be purchased pre-made, created online or homemade from templates or by scratch. Garden diaries are also great items to take to gardening clubs or to share memories and ideas with friends.
Resources
Keeping a Garden Journal by HMK Staff (Accessed 05/21/2010)
Rhiana Jones - Rhiana Jones is a freelance writer with a business background in customer service, marketing, and copywriting. She is a former ...
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