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Organizing With Binders, A Garden Notebook

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A Garden Notebook To Plan Your Garden & Keep Your Memories

A garden notebook is just the thing to help you plan your garden ahead of time and keep all your notes, seed packets, drawings and catalogs organized. Organizing with binders is fun, practical and inexpensive.

You can even be creative with a garden notebook by adding pictures of your garden successes (or maybe not so much successes) to refer to later. There may be something you want to plant again ~ or something you don't! The pictures can also be an aid in deciding where to plant something in the future. Most importantly, they'll be treasured memories of your hobby, especially if they include your loved ones and pets.

What Binder Should I Use For A Garden Notebook?

Here's What I use for my own garden notebook

Considering that you may want to take the notebook binder outside, you'll want a sturdy binder that can take being dropped. It should be able to take a good cleaning too.

Here's a list of the kind I use. I just clean them with a damp sponge and my favorite cleaner. A well-loved garden binder should look well-loved after all, no?

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What Should Go In My Garden Notebook?

Here's some ideas to get you started...

  • Plan out your gardens by drawing your beds on graph paper.
  • Seed packets and the labels from plants you buy. I use clear sheet protectors to keep them in and paper clip the tops closed.
  • Keep all your favorite garden company catalogs in your binder. If you get one like mine, there's room. I got pocket dividers for the catalogs, but you can just keep them in the inside pocket if you prefer.
  • Make a record of the birds, bugs, butterflies or other wildlife you attracted to your garden and whether it was a good or bad experience.
  • Make a list of plants you'd like to try. Look them up and make notes to make sure they are appropriate for your zone, when to plant, care needed, growth patterns, etc. Then you can remember what you want to try next season!
  • Make a record of what didn't work too, and why. That way you won't plant the same thing again and be disappointed.
  • Make a list of what you DO have planted, with fertilizing needs, growth expectations, etc.
  • You can keep a daily diary of your garden observations if you enjoy that. What was blooming today? What butterflies did you see? Have the robins arrived?

A Garden Notebook Can Be A Vinyl Binder

Organizing with binders is fun and easy

Gardening Planner and Journal Binder binder
Gardening Planner and Journal Binder

Supplies For Your Garden Notebook

Organizing with binders is practical and inexpensive

These are my suggestions based on how mine is set up. Mine is nothing fancy; I just want it to work for me. But your garden notebook should be as personal as you want it to be. It can be scrapbook style, diary style...any style you want! Have fun with it!

  • Three ring binder of the size desired. I'm using a huge zipper binder like the ones the kids use for school. LOL Works for me!
  • Plastic tabbed pocket dividers; I chose plastic in case I get splashy splashy, ya see. In the pockets, I can keep seed packets, plant wrappers, notes, receipts etc. until I can put them into their sheet protectors.
  • Sheet protectors - again, I keep everything in this notebook in sheet protectors in case I get things wet. Tends to keep things cleaner and dryer longer for me. My notebook is more a utility style notebook.
  • Notebook paper and graph paper; this is for making journal notes and drawing the garden plans. I'm the worst artist in the world, but my drawings have still helped me plan ahead. Don't ask me how, but I'm glad they work for me! The journal notes include what kind of wildlife I have coming to my gardens; what kinds of plants, shrubs and trees I have, my vegetable garden, etc.
  • A sturdy pencil pouch. I keep permanent markers, utility scissors, a folding knife my hubby gave me, seed packets and other miscellany in this pouch.

Office Supplies For Your Garden Notebook

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How To Build A Raised Garden Bed

Enjoy!

Don't forget to take notes for your garden notebook!
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Suncast RB848 Raised Garden Construction Kit

Some Inspiration For Your Garden Notebook

Tentuculata by Florence Ivy
Tentuculata by Florence Ivy
Rajah by Florence Ivy
Aristolochioides by Florence Ivy
Medusa by Florence Ivy
Lowii by Florence Ivy
Cape by Florence Ivy
Aristolochioides by Florence Ivy
Unknown 2 by Florence Ivy
Red Leaf by Florence Ivy
Pygmy by Florence Ivy
Unknown by Florence Ivy
Medusa by Florence Ivy
Huntington2012DSC_7977 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_7941 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_8066 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_8065 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_8068 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_8059 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_7979 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_7940 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_8060 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_8064 by Scrap Pile
Huntington2012DSC_8063 by Scrap Pile
automatically generated by Flickr

Check out these pages for more ideas for organizing with binders

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Gardening Planner and Journal Binder binder
Gardening Planner and Journal Binder

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Garden Diary Printable Worksheet Links

Here are some links to sites where you can get printable worksheets for your garden notebook. Even if you don't use the worksheets, you might get some ideas for worksheets of your own! If you know of any other sites with printable garden diary worksheets, add them to the list!

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Vegetable Garden Worksheets, Garden Diary, Zone Chart, Planting Guide

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Food For Everyone Store - Yields for common garden crops

Expected vegetable garden crop yields for beans, b more...0 points

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Homestead Harvest

Scroll down the page to download a free garden jou more...0 points

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