Do you all make notes to yourself?

...or keep a journal for the garden? I am not that organized, but at this time of year I do make a note of what needs to go, be moved or divided next spring. I am going to redo one bed and remove a lot of old perennials this fall that under perform or have shorter bloom times or ratty foliage compared to some newer varieties. If I don't write everything down I will forget all my "scathingly brilliant" ideas by this fall never mind by spring. It also helps me decide and justify the winter ordering binge. What have you all done so far or are in the middle of planning from the garden this year?

I was going to write notes after Kassis's RU. I guess I am sick. I am going to have to write myself a note to make notes for what I have planted.

I'm 72 and even with a bad memory I would keep notes.
I have fiolders for each garden ,including the deck containers, with pictures and Wish lists and notes on plants I don't want again.I start in May and wil probably end in September.
Each garden folder has monthly files so I can chart the progress of certain areas,there are other benefits but can't go into them here,too many to list.
I keep pictures from online catalogues so if the plant ,like DL'S isnt what was promised I send a letter with a picture of what was ordered and what bloomed/
OBSESSIVE?
yes, not one of my best traits.
I'm retired and have no childern to watch and not much else to do so I pour my energy into keeping some organization of the garden.

I am not very organized in that respect. I will scribble ideas/plants down on small pieces of paper. if I'm lucky, I will find them at some point. A few times I had a running list on the computer. It comes down to two things with me - I see a spot that needs something or I see a plant I must have. Unfortunately, the two rarely happen close together so I then have to think a little more...

I don't know what I'm thinking with all this planning and pictures because the 2009 catalogues will change everything.
I also see a spot and envision what I want there, so with all first year plants in the new gardens I have to be cautious and not over plant because I am not physically able to dig a new garden for the second year overgrow and overflow.
I keep ideas and notes just for guides.
Already this year I can see the "Red garden " I wanted under the living room window needs more red with the Shocking Lilies and Red dutch. Something long blooming like an Echi and some red Coriopsis to carry over the bloom time of the torch lillies,OP's and the crocosmia.

Great minds must think alike...lol. Like Victor, I too jot down ideas that come to mind after looking at all of the great gardening pics here, and on my travels. I also jot down all of the new hostas that I want (need) and all of the new DL's that I want (NEED). Eventually, Paul...lol, will find these papers and file them into our filing cabinet in a folder marked, "Thom's Plants," this helps out a wee bit. I have been taking more and more pics of my gardens, and have been keeping notes on them. That way I have a visual as well as a written reference as to what and who is where in my garden(s).
This is the first time for me to keep all of these pictures in a somewhat organized manner. My camera, and the program that came with it, store pics by date. So, if I want to look up what was blooming on May 30, I open the pics up, look up May '08, and scroll down to the date, and check out what is blooming, or not. I have been taking more pics, LOTS more, than what I have posted. The counter on the storage program is just breaking 2,000. I have several tablets at the computer desk, and I will jot down notes...if anyone else were to sit here, and see the notes they would probably be scratching their heads in puzzlement. Since I have taken so many pics, and I refuse to go and rename them all (the individual pics that is), I may have a note jotted down that says 1329...boo hoo. Essentially, the pic of .jpg 1000-1329 was horrible and should not be planted again...lol. Sometimes I write down explatives...sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad, sometimes out of pure exuberance for a particular plant that I need, want, and will get!
My collection of DL's just topped the 3 digit mark, and my Hosta collection has now officially topped the 3 digit mark...so I need to take pics, to remember who's who, and what's what...otherwise I will have a whole bed of "No IDs" next year. I'm also investing in engraved labels by a company that I saw and contacted in this seasons DL Journal from the AHS. That way I shouldn't have to many NO IDs next year, that is something that truly frustrates me.
Enough babbling from me, I have to go fertilize the pots...the plant kids are looking hungry!

I try to "make notes" in my garden blog - like cut and paste my orders in there so I know what I bought where - but that is about it. I'm not very organized.

Years ago I had nice engraved labels made up by Oakes. Since then I have added lots more and need to label them. I do the same with my pics. I don't name or organize them by plant name. Every month I start a new photo folder. It gets two sub-folders - Garden and Other. Since my first digital camera in '02, I probably have over 15,000 photos, most of which are Garden!

Hi, this thread just popped up on my dg home page and intrigued me! lol!

I too used to jot alot of notes. ... and make alot of 'mental notes' and then loose them :o9
this is my first year with full garden beds.... and there are many plants that will need to be moved in the fall...as I didnt 'plan' much last year, just found and empty spot and planted.

I have cosmos growing and shading/covering lilies...etc. so, instead of jotting notes, I have been very diligent with photographing the beds. Then in fall, I'll just go thru all the photos to see what needs to be moved where. lol!

I'm a visual person, so the photos will help me decide where I need to move something to look better next year. Not only that, but being new to gardening, it seems I had to have one of every plant avail, lol! so if I were to write a note that the hollyhocks didnt do well in the shade...well, knowing me, in the fall I wont even remember what hollyhock is! much less what it looked like! lol!

I've been taking pictures of each bed every two weeks just so I can use them to move stuff later. I'll let you know if my 'system' works! lol!

I keep a narrow focus iris bloom log on which plants bloom by date. This helps to work out information for reports & helps to know if a plant should be divided. Granted it's not the entire garden, but it is getting to be most of it.

Good system!

Edited to say I was responding to Anjl.

This message was edited Jul 30, 2008 4:51 PM

I have split personality disorder. I can be extremely organized to the point of being obsessive - for example, I recently created a database in Microsoft Access for all my plants. (I used to use DG's journal but it didn't have fields for all the data I wanted to maintain). Then my other personality always rushes in to sabotage my hard work and admirable efforts. I invariably lose the tags of half the plants before I can log them and end up with a lot of noids, LOL!

Keep all your receipts as a backup. I have at least ten years worth.

The receipts usually suffer the same fate as the tags.

Not to mention they contain dangerous evidence....

I havn't kept reciepts but maybe I should. Good advise DG er's

I always do a lot of planning, pictures, maps, notes but never notes on how things are growing. I do want to start a scrap book with pics of the gardens since I now own a digital camera.

I don't write notes for the garden. I am beginning to label & I do keep receipts. ☺

Cool label. Interested to see how it holds up.

my seedling tags made with the p-touch....have been sitting in a tray with water in them since spring... I wanted to test them out before I went and re-labeled all my tags with them... so far so good

watercan... where do you get those labels? I need at least a zillion of them!

I have a huge photo inventory of my plants and gardens that automatically get logged by date. I also make use of DG's blog and journal. The blog mostly reports what I did. I have a projects and to-dos list in my calendar. I guess I should put them in my blog too, to keep them all together. I keep the tags to plants I bought in a box. I write the location of the plant on the tag with a sharpie before it goes in the box. I keep my receipts usually... not always. I like Cat's idea of copying and pasting the receipt into her blog.

Don't let my boss know that I do this, but.....
....After losing all my signage last year, I put metal name tags on each and every plant. Flowers, Herbs, Plants and anything else growing. I've gone through 200 of them.
....Every day when I get home from work I walk around the gardens (I sound like I own New Jersey) with my journal and note what is blooming or about to bloom. Growth of plants. Soil conditions. Disease and insect damage and other general garden information.
....Pictures are taken of each and every garden and plant. Flowers are taken with FFO and bud groupings. Pictures in morning and afternoon to show flower changes.
....A three ring binder of each DL with the facts sheet (from Dave's garden) and either a picture from garden or print showing flower. This is used to better know size, color, growing characteristics of each plant for groupings. Also aids in selecting plant infomation for other people.
....Also have Plants program on computer that all infomation entered.
Other then this I don't do much.
Chuck


This message was edited Jul 31, 2008 7:46 AM

Wow - no time clock?? Individual plant bio-rhythms?

Hi 1AnjL, I made them with a Brother 'P-Touch' labeler. Got the labeler and the tape from Imagesupply.com. The zinc markers were on sale at Gardenersedge.com. I got the labeler which can be 'stand-alone' or attached to my computer via USB. With either method you can save the label and/ or the label format for future use. They are very easy to make.

dogwalker made me laugh with the comment about "like I own New Jersey"!

I do it with photos and take a shot of what has to be moved and then where it will go. They all get labeled nicely and then I never refer to them.

Notes? Way too many notes around here and by the time I see them the third time I know it either did go as planned or I trash the note - way too depressing to see all I want to do but don't get "aroundtoit".

I have a strong dislike of having my ankles bleeding from being cut by metal labels and the round topped ones I did use are blank since I wasn't using a Paint Pen of any kind. Rocks/beach stones work well for me but even one of them must have been done with a Sharpie because I have a beautiful JI with no name now. The name lasts for years when done correctly.

Walked around, GH, patio and near the comp. Heres my filing system of everything I either grew or planted. Other then RU. This is driving me nutz.

oops wrong pic. Slap my head.

I have so many notes on my computer desk I don't know what's what or where's where DUH. In other words it is hopeless. BEV

I had my DL's labeled, then winter came. Some I can just tell others it's a guessing game. I have a list I own but that's not much of a help with out a map or pictures......I'm doomed to have NOIDS for the rest of my life!

Same here with my no I.D.'s due to lost or faded tags, Pixie.

Victor,
I have attempted to see if plants have a pulse, results are incomplete.
I will although, be attempting the world's first flower transplant this Saturday.
Igor is even now going around to the discard piles of the local nurserys looking for likely subjects.
If sucessful, I plan on calling my creation, FRANKENSCENT.
Igor, hand me the trowel.

I prefer Abbie Normal.

Perfectly apropos, Victor!

Chuck when do you have any time to garden?

Hi Jen,
Because Marilyn has clients most nights till 7pm I have about 3 hours most days when I get home from work.
It is easier if you do a little each day.
Chuck

Hi folks, all I can say is thank god for the digital camera. I have years worth of stuff that I have no clue what it is. Now like most others I use the photos. I also use Photo Shop for software and I love it. The options for organizing are fantastic and there is space for names and notes on each picture, it even accepts audio notes. I’m not the most organized person so ps really helps. I need to stop, I sound like a commercial.

Do you use the audio?

I don’t have the microphone to record, but it is easy to attach the audio to the picture. I have attached some things I have on file. I’ve had photo shop for almost 3 years and still haven’t gotten around to getting a mike. I can type pretty fast, not always accurate, but pretty fast.

I've been getting Elements for years now and still haven't.