Autumn is here! So many things about that word bring vivid images to mind. Nippy, breezy weather. Colorful leaves. Homefires burning. Time spent in a cozy kitchen, watching twilight usher in a night fit for quilts. Even here in the Deep South, I love the fall more than any other season. Fall leads me into a time of thinking and planning.
Right now we are planning our winter garden. This past weekend was absolutely picture perfect and we got the broccoli planted. We prepared the soil and also “beefed” up the soil in all of our garden plots. We still have peppers [1] growing and producing and my tomatoes are looking happier with the cool nights. Maybe, just maybe, they will give us some fruit! And so, sitting on the back porch this past Sunday afternoon, I wrote all of this in my garden journal.
Do you keep a garden journal? I amazed at this, but I do. Wordy as I am, I have never been a lifelong diary keeper, or a dedicated journaler. Several years ago my garden journal was a gift to me so I thought I better try it out. For three years now, I have made routine entries and I really enjoy looking back at what was happening last year or the year before. If you do not currently keep a journal of what you’ve grown in your garden and when you planted it, the crisp, cool evenings of autumn are a good time to begin.
I would guess there are as many types of garden journals as there are gardeners. Mine, being a gift, is spiral bound with beautiful botanical renderings on the cover. It is large, too, as long as a legal pad, with blank lined pages inside. It is ready for anything I have to say in anyway I want to say it. For me, I write several times each year, usually with the change of season. I make a note of the date and year, and then bullet my entries. I make them short and to the point. For instance, I wrote this past weekend:
September 30, 2006:
- Removed remaining cherry tomato [2] vines and pulled weeds.
- Spread mushroom compost and organic soil on all beds, including the backyard winter garden.
- Planted 2 more bell pepper plants. They had fruit already on them at the nursery and I could not resist getting them.
- Planted 21 broccoli plants in the backyard garden bed.
- Weather today – perfect! No humidity and a sweet breeze.
- Refurbished soil in the hanging strawberry plants.
- Renewed the compost [3] and soil in the front garden. I hope the tomatoes and peppers can revive.
- Planted a beautiful flower we found at the nursery and had never heard of . It is called Crossandra ‘Mona Walhead’. It is a beautiful apricot color and the blooms open off of a long pod stalk. I hope it likes where we put it. Note: research this flower.
- The mums are blooming and even the Hydrangeas are still putting forth blooms. They are speckled!
- The Camellias are laden with flower buds.
- Butterflies are everywhere!
- Spread mushroom compost and organic soil on all beds, including the backyard winter garden.
Looking back to last year, I wrote:
September 25, 2005
- Put up (froze) 6 bags of green beans, 4 bags squash.
- Our friend and fellow farmer, Bill Mayo, passed away this month. I
- Peppers yielding nicely.
- Sweet Basil still doing well, and smelling so good when it is cut!
- Cucumber plants gone now, and I removed the last of the vines.
- Tom’s red peppers are doing great!
In my imagination, I can picture all kinds of garden journals. If I could change mine it would include pockets. I like to keep seed packets after they are empty (for the info on the back and just to look at the pretty drawings/paintings of the vegetables and flowers). I would also use the pockets to keep clipped articles from the gardening section of our paper (when they remind me of what I should be doing!). I would like to have a journal stuffed with all kinds of pieces of paper, and maybe smudged with dirt. I can see how many folks would have a real working journal, especially if they own businesses that pertain to gardening.
Journals can, obviously, be anything you choose. Perhaps you prefer an ordinary notebook from the school supply section at the store, or a plain tablet. Your journal may be a folder full of loose articles. Journals can be store bought or handmade. A garden journal is a great gift for the holidays coming up! I have seen all shapes and sizes in the garden stores. I would love to hear about yours!