When I’m not puttering around in my yard, and by puttering I mean pulling weeds, watering, fertilizing, trimming, filling bird feeders, cleaning bird baths, and an endless assortment of other tasks. It’s all in what you call it. Puttering sounds more relaxed, but by any name, I love every minute of it.
When I’m finished with all that puttering, I love to sit on my patio and observe the flowers, watch the birds splash in the bird baths and the butterflies flitting around the butterfly weed. When the days are pleasant and the breeze is gentle, I’m also inspired to write. Sometimes the topic is the Green Thumb Gardening article. I also use this tranquil setting to update my gardening journal.
I’ve been keeping journals for more than 25 years. Yes, I have a collection! Many were given to me by my sister, Angela. She orders them online or occasionally finds them at her local bookstores in Memphis. We are both fond of the ones that have a sketch space for planning next year’s planting, that include month-to-month tips, and which have plenty of room for day-to-day updates.
Besides exercising my love of writing about flower gardening, the journal provides a record for what plants are thriving, which ones are struggling, keeping tabs on pests and other challenges, a reminder of when to fertilize, and so on.
My garden journals are well worn. The covers and even some of the pages have traces of soil from that days planting and puttering.
Author Margaret Atwood wrote, “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
As an avid gardener, my hands at least, smell and look dirty just about anytime I’m in my “happy place,” in all but the dead of winter.
If you love gardening and landscaping, I encourage you to get 
a journal and update it occasionally. It will save you time and money in the long run. Like for many pursuits of passions and hobbies, those “notes to self” can come in handy. I even enjoy thumbing through some of my journals from years past and realize how my garden has grown.
Have you ever kept a gardening journal? How does it help you plan your plantings from year to year? We’d love to hear from you. Email me at [email protected] or comment on our Green Thumb Gardening Facebook posts.
I’ll leave you with one final thought to tuck away for the gray days of January, when you find yourself looking ahead to brighter times and spring’s promise of a myriad of colors, a journal will help you plant your dreams.
