Before I even started gardening again, I knew that this time I needed to keep track of everything in a garden journal or folder. Somewhere I could jot quick notes and keep track of garden chores and plant progress. What worked and what didn’t. any lessons I learn, for future reference.
These days you can find many types of pre-made garden journals, but I have always found that I prefer a blank one that I can personalise myself. Premade journals often have some things I want, many things I don’t use and lack a bunch of things I wish they had.
Having a blank garden journal that I can customise to my personal needs just seemed like a better option. Plus, I enjoy the creative side of setting pages up as I want them to look.
My Choice Of Journal
I ended up getting a hardcover journal with grid lines. It’s sturdy, which is good for taking notes while out in the garden, it has thick pages, which are good for any potential sketches and any pens I might pick up to take notes with.
This is the same type of journal I prefer to use as a planner too. I like both grid or dot versions. Both allow a bit more structure for sketches and help to draw straight lines when setting up various page layouts. Like weekly schedules, calendars, trackers or spreadsheets.
What I Record In My Garden Journal
So far, I’ve been taking note of wishlists, purchases made, varieties I’m growing, when they were sown, when they germinated, chores I’ve done, watering schedules and I’ve been keeping track of compost bin refill days and worm farm feedings.
The journal also came in handy when out at garden centres as I had sketched out the terrace (to scale) and made lists of everything we needed to look for.
Customising My Garden Journal
Since I have various journals for different purposes, decorating them helps to distinguish one from the other without having to open the book.
So this one got a lovely leafy sticker down the spine, making it easy to find even if it’s in a stack of books on the shelf.
I stuck colourful butterfly stickers all over the front and then decided to make a pocket on the inside of the front cover. These journals usually have a pocket in the back cover, but having one in the front means I see it everytime I open the journal, good to keep those discount coupons so they’re not forgotten!
I chose one of my old watercolour cards, a simple design, just a few blue and green watercolour lines across the page. I then used some coloured pens to doodle within those painted stripes. Finally, I used a white paint pen to add some highlights here and there.
To attach the pocket to the inside cover, I used tape and then covered that with a mix and match selection of washi tapes. I think it looks lovely and the prettier things look, the more I want to look at them, so I am more likely to use books, or pages within them, if they are decorated in pretty colours.
For that reason, I have also decorated the back pocket and I’ve added colourful tabs to important pages, since I’ve not just written in the front of the garden journal, but I’ve made notes on different things at various intervals throughout the journal. The tabs are really helpful to find those hidden trackers, schedules and lists.
Additional Things To Keep Track Of
One thing I want to improve on is keeping track of the weather and how the garden responds to it.
My garden is on the terrace, with its own micro-climate. It gets quite hot at times and occasionally gets battered by the wind.
Keeping track of these things will probably be helpful down the line. Which months are most windy or when is the hottest and coldest time, the precautions I take and how well they worked.
Another thing I want to make note of is all the wildlife that visits. Ants, birds, flies, wasps, bees, caterpillars, aphids, mealy bugs, centepedes, ladybugs, moths, slugs. So many things to monitor!
I’m making space for lessons learned too. So when the next gardening season comes around, I will hopefully avoid making the same mistakes again.
I’d also like to keep track of harvests, whether flowers or food. Which varieties performed best, how things tasted, which flowers I loved, how long they lasted in the garden or in a vase, etc.
If you have any other ideas about what I could record in my garden journal, then please share them. I’d love to hear your suggestions.
