The methods we gardeners use for recording and keeping track of garden plans, plant successes and unfortunately at times, garden failures is varied. Some gardeners rely on simple spiral notebooks, scraps of paper or file boxes, while others prefer to use specially designed garden journals, online garden journals, garden journal software or their own computer spreadsheets. For those of you just getting started in this glorious pastime of gardening or those looking to improve upon their current system I thought I’d provide a few examples of some of the different options available for garden record keeping and the type of information you may want to record. Hope you find it helpful!
Spiral Notebook
The first example is shown in the photo above. It was the image on the cover that caught my eye. (The garden soil and hand trowel were like a magnet after not seeing either of those items through the winter!) It’s a simple spiral notebook sold by Paperchase in the UK. Inside, one page provides space for note-taking and the opposite page is left blank, which would be suitable for drawing diagrams or attaching pictures.
File Box
My mom is a fan of the file box. Her gardening file box was actually created from a photo box. It offers lots of space for storing her file cards, miscellaneous seed packs and a multitude of little snippets she finds and wants to keep for future reference. She’s promised to give us all an inside view of the contents in her prized file box in an upcoming post.
Hardcover Garden Journal
A hardcover garden journal is similar to the spiral notebook, however in this particular example, the
Royal Horticultural Society Five Year Gardener’s Journal
provides enough space to record five year’s worth of gardening activity. This is a great garden information management system that allows you to quickly access information from previous years.
Online Garden Journals / Garden Journal Software
One of the highly popular methods used for keeping an online garden journal is the blog. You’re reading one right now! Starting and maintaining a blog is exceptionally easy and economical. There are lots of free blogging platforms available. Check out Wordpress.com and Blogger.com. If you’d like more in-depth info on how to choose a blogging platform, read this article at ProBlogger.
For those not interested in sharing their gardening experiences with the rest of the world, iDaily Diary is a free downloadable diary / journaling software.
Also available, but for a fee is the Garden Organizer Deluxe 2.7.
Information Worth Recording / Garden Stuff Worth Keeping
Diagrams / Garden Plans
Pests
Weather (frosts, droughts, rainfall)
Locations of Plantings & Notes on how plants fare in those areas.
Seed Packet Information
Seed Starting - Dates and Germination
Photos
Garden Quotes
Garden Catalog Pages
Newspaper Clippings
Recipes
Bird and Wildlife Sightings
Lists of Bloom Times
Optimal Times for Plant Division
Receipts for Plants & Garden Tools
Magazine Clippings
Book Lists
Websites
Wish Lists
Garden Tips & Ideas
Supplier Information
Gardener’s Monthly To Do List
Whatever you choose as your method for keeping track of activity in the garden, the beginning of spring is the prime time to start using it. Good luck with this year’s projects!
Please let me know of any other interesting record keeping options you stumble across.
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