I Love My Garden Journal

My husband Dan is pretty great. For many reasons. He's smart, funny, honest and generous, to name a few. He also finds me great birthday gifts. On several of my birthdays over the years, he has given me some spiffy garden tools, accessories, and books. With my birthday in the cold depths of February, these gardening treasures get me excited about the promise of spring and the smell of dirt, blossoms, and rain.

A couple years ago, Dan got me a box of gardening treasures from Lee Valley (for sure one of our favourite stores). One of the things in the box was a beautiful hardcover gardening journal. I had never thought of having a gardening journal. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, 

I start planning and dreaming about my garden pretty early in the year, and I have accrued quite a collection of random scraps of paper with notes and drawings. They've always been disorganized: sticking out of gardening books or magazines, or lying crumpled and muck-stained on a dusty shelf in the garage. Needless to say, I've wasted a good amount of time looking for the notes I've written to remind myself of things from season to season. Receiving the garden journal was a wee revelation.

The Lee Valley garden journal is built to last, with all the acid-free pages sewn into the binding. So even though it's a beautiful book, I have no qualms about taking it outside and thumbing through it with dirt under my nails. The journal has page numbers and a blank index at the beginning of the book that you fill in yourself. That's a pretty handy feature because I can easily find the notes I need to consult. And everything's all in one place, not scattered all over my house and garage.

I keep track of things that will help me out in the current garden season:  

• In March, I start thinking about the garden projects I want to do in the upcoming season. These plans go in the journal. Putting my plans in writing helps me remember them amidst the day-to-day gardening jobs. It also keeps me honest when I visit the garden centre, a place where I easily get carried away with plant purchases.
• I jot down care guidelines for the plants in my gardens, gleaned from the embarrassing number of gardening books I have. 

I also write down things that will be helpful to know in future gardening seasons:

• I take note of significant plant maintenance activities (pruning, feeding, etc.), including dates, and how the plants respond. This way, I'll have a better understanding of what helps and what doesn't from year to year.
• I draw maps of my gardens so I remember which plants are where. I adjust the map throughout the season as I add new plants or move plants.
  
• I try to monitor soil conditions, though I'm not crazy vigilant about it. I test the soil in different gardens, take note of the results, and record anything I do to modify the soil.
• I take note of any pest, disease, or fungus issues and what remedies I try. Last year, it was swearword-inducing aphids in the cherry tree and powdery mildew on my garden phlox.
• I have started sticking into the journal the tags/labels from the plants I buy. The labels usually have good information, especially the plant's various names.

Keeping track of all this information might seem a little anal. And it probably is. 

But for me, it's just one more enjoyable part of a process and passion I already enjoy so much. Keeping a garden journal lets me enjoy gardening even when I can't dig a spade into the earth, when all the plants are huddled under their blankets of fall leaves and snow. It keeps me organized, and I think it probably helps me take better care of the plants that have been entrusted to me.

If you want to start a garden journal, you don't need to get a spiffy Lee Valley one like I have (thought it sure is nice). All you need is a notebook or a binder, a pen or pencil, some ideas, and some insights. Oh, and some plants to write about.