Need a place to track your garden’s successes? Create a garden journal to detail what went well, and what didn’t in your garden, this year. This will help you make any changes for next year!

A three-ring binder with clear plastic sheet protectors is sufficient for storing your photos and notes. If you’re computer savvy, a digital record or even a blog, complete with photos, works great throughout the seasons.

Organization for your journal is essential. The most common method is to detail your garden’s happenings by month. Start by taking photos of the landscape, individual garden beds and even individual flowers or weeds. Label and date these photos and place them in your journal, according to month.

Notes are the next most important step! Keep notes of what’s blooming well or anything you wish to move, divide or “donate to another gardener.” Also, record your tasks completed each month. This will help remind you when fertilizing, pruning and dividing should be completed each month.

If you’ve planted anything throughout your gardening season, store the plant tags in your garden journal. This will help remind you their variety name and care instructions. Make notes throughout the season, such as ‘great performer’ or ‘fabulous color’. Check your notes when planting the following season.

Dedicating an entire section of your gardening journal to weeds is also important for garden maintenance. Photograph weeds and add to your journal. Or take a sample of the weed, slip it between the pages of a phone book allow to dry for one to two weeks. Pull the weed out and slip into one of the sheet protectors.

Looking back throughout your garden journal can be exciting as you see how your garden has progressed. It’s also a great way to get inspired and plan your next gardening project!

Lori gives some tips on how to make the most of your Garden Journal.