Dreaming of Spring? - Start a Garden Journal

The sun streaming through the kitchen window this afternoon lured me outside with my granddaughter MacKenzie. Pushing her up and down the driveway in her plastic car, my mind began to wander. I was dreaming of spring. "I think I'll take out those climbing roses at the back of the property", "wouldn't a new garden shed look great back there?" and "I need to start planning my new herb beds" filled my thoughts. The forecast of snow flurries in the morning quickly snapped me back into reality, but I can still dream of spring, I will just put it on paper.

For several years I have "meant" to start a garden journal, but of course couldn't find the time. This year is going to be different. All of the good ideas I see on television or read about in the Essential Herbal aren't going to be forgotten, remembered only too late to become a realization.

Creating a garden journal helps you get your thoughts together and keep up with all of those great ideas you get throughout the year. I began this summer cutting out pictures of gardens that I liked along with garden structures, fencing, garden themes etc; that interested me. Of course, unless you have lots of time and money, all of your ideas cannot be done at once. A garden evolves with time, and a journal can help you see and plan the progress of your garden. It is kind of a “business" plan for your garden.

Your journal can be as plain or fancy as you like. No rules here. Mine is going to be a 3 ring binder. I printed some gardening clipart and placed it in the plastic sleeve on front. I like the binder style because I can add as many pages as I want. A spiral bound notebook, scrapbook, or purchased journal would work also. Your journal, like your garden, is only limited by your imagination.

What do you put in your journal? Everyone's will be unique, but here are some ideas to get you started.

• Pictures of gardens you like
• Results of soil tests
• Seed starting dates, planting times, and harvesting time for your plants
• Date of first and last frost for your area
• Lunar phases for “planting by the moon"
• A calendar for planning your plantings
• Catalogs
• Plants you want in your garden and their soil, sun, and water requirements
• A diagram of your garden with each row labeled as to what you planted. This will help with crop rotation, and companion planting
• Diagram of individual beds with plantings labeled. (Many plants die back, and you can't remember what that is coming up next spring!)
• Pictures of garden art, sheds, garden décor that you like and where you can purchase them.
• Upcoming garden shows and what you want to look for/purchase.
• The weather. Was it too hot, too dry, too wet, and how did that affect your plants?
• Recipes for your harvest (will help you decide what you need to plant and what to do with all those peppers and tomatoes you will plant)
• An envelope for receipts. My local garden center will replace a fruit tree, bush etc., within 3 years if it dies and you return with receipt and the dead plant.
• Insects: The good, the bad, and the ugly, along with the birds and butterflies that visited your garden.
• Before and after pictures are a must. The garden at 1 year, 3 years, etc.
• Garden quotes, stickers, and of course, pictures of kids, grandkids, and pets.

I hope this gives you some ideas for this year's garden, and many gardens to come.

Dreaming of spring,
Karen
www.GardenChick.com