How to Make a Garden Journal in Five Easy Steps

Spring is coming! Many of us seasoned gardeners will be foraging around our yards soon. We will be preparing our gardens for another joyful year's growth. My garden beds are mature. By now, I have every plant memorized and know where and when each will spring up. When I first started out, though, my garden journal helped me a great deal.

For those of you who want to begin a garden for the first time, or add a new bed this year, why not create your own garden journal? It can be an indispensable tool and a wonderful memento of your efforts.

Creating and keeping a garden journal need not be a complicated ordeal. In five easy steps, I will show you how to create a fantastic one! You'll create an inexpensive, easy place to keep track of your garden that will take minimal time to set up.

First, visit your local dollar store or craft store and purchase a photo album. It doesn't need to contain more than 10 pages, front and back. Pick a design that attracts you, one that you will want to display proudly in your home! Trust me; you will want to show this brag book of sorts to your family and friends.

Second, on an index card, or piece of paper cut to fit one of the album spaces, draw the shape of your garden bed. This is your garden bed diagram. If you have multiple beds, you will need a diagram for each bed.

Third, put a number in a circle on your on your diagram where each plant you have planted is located in the bed. Record each number, name of the plant and the date planted on another index card. This is your garden bed key. This diagram and key will be a work in progress! Perhaps you only have two or three plants in your garden bed right now. You will add numbers in circles as you add plants!

Fourth, for each plant, either cut a picture of it out of a garden catalog or take your own picture of it yourself when it is mature. Label each picture with the corresponding number on your garden bed diagram. You could get fancy and use stickers with numbers on them if you want to! This step is what makes your garden journal a lovely, unique piece of personal artwork! Be imaginative!

Fifth, if you would like to note any interesting event, or observation, just jot it down on an index card or piece of paper that will fit in an album slot. Don't forget to date your note!

That's it! Set up your garden journal however you'd like with your bed diagrams, keys, corresponding pictures, and notes. Your garden journal will help you remember what, where, and when you planted something. I have included a picture of one of my journals as an example. It will take minimal effort, for you to follow the five steps above. In no time, you will have a beautiful record of your garden to look at and refer to year after year!