Garden Journaling

A garden journal can be so much more than a reference tool; it can also become a remembrance and history of your garden. It is a gift to be left to those that follow you. A loved one equipped with the garden journey of a past family member is a gift few ever receive.

During the time I was first exploring the gardens here at our family homestead years ago, I found bits and pieces of garden notes that Steve’s Grandfather had written and tacked to the shed wall. Oh, how I cherished reading those notes. This is how I learned that we should add all the leaf mold you can find to the garden and to plant peas in February.

I searched for a journal that was flexible that I could add to for the years to come, had some timely tips, and had room to write those tips I gathered as I read and learned more. After a long unsuccessful search, I put my experiences and ideas on paper and published it. “A Gardener’s Journal, Memories of my Garden” is a forever garden journal based on my years of gardening experience.

As a calendar can tell you when to do something, a journal is where you write it once you have done it; it’s creating the history of your gardening life. There are no words to describe the landscape or garden or lawn like a photo does. Having a journal to gather those photos is priceless when looking back or trying to plan ahead, (a task to put on the calendar: photos of garden areas in all four seasons.)

“A Gardener’s Journal, Memories of my Garden” is a smorgasbord of tips and ideas I have gathered and has a place for you to add your own as you garden along. The most functional part of this journal is that it is in a 3-ring binder. This allows for moving pages around to customizing your journal and to update from year to year.

A great tip for yearly updating is to have a second binder with page dividers. Transfer last year’s journaling and photo pages to this yearly journal and divide by the year. This is a great place to put last year’s calendar also. This will make room for the current year in your journal.

I was fortunate to learn early on in my gardening life the impact and importance of a journal. So each year as I continue this thing I love; gardening, I try to get better at journaling and just do the best I can. There is something heartwarming about going back and reading my journal to realize I really have come a long way!

Oh, how I would love to have a journal on how Grandpa Ziegler spent his lifetime building the soil and garden in this place that Steve and I love and garden.

Purchase “A Gardener’s Journal, Memories of my Garden”

Make memories!

Lisa

Lisa Mason Ziegler is a commercial cut-flower farmer in Newport News, Virginia; she lectures and writes about organic and sustainable gardening. You can email Lisa at [email protected] , call her at 757-877-7159 or visit her website www.shoptgw.com .

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