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| the Italian prune tree, set in an oval hedge of dwarf boxwood, in the backyard |
When are you supposed to start tomato seeds? When the oak leaf is as big as a squirrel's ear? Or is it when the crocus have bloomed and faded? Or perhaps when the weeping willow drops 17 twigs per hour? Oh I don't know, and I can't remember when I started my seeds last year.
And that's why I started this gardening notebook! I could never remember when I started certain seeds, and then when to begin the transplant process.
This is just a leftover plastic binder, from a conference my husband attended many years ago, that I've made pretty with some fabric. As nice as it looks from the outside, it's what's inside that keeps my gardening organized.
These "special features" are just binder odds and ends. Several years ago, our garden club put together garden notebooks. We each brought our own binders, then shared packets of notebook organizing pages, purchased from Office Depot.
The 4-section photograph holder page is perfect for keeping notecards with special how-to info, such as making hypertufa, using herbs and blossoms in bath bombs and salts, and making hosta leaves with concrete.
The multi-section business card holder is where I keep info like the guy who grinds stumps for us, and the service that takes out or trims trees, the contact info for a stone mason, and stone supply, etc.
I have a couple of large sheet protectors for full pages of information,
and photos and sketches of gardens that I love.
There's a pocket page for catalogs, tree tags and other items that wouldn't otherwise fit into other pages. I do save old fruit tree and vegetable seeds catalogs, for their valuable information on care and disease/pest prevention with our trees, and seed planting info that goes beyond what may be on the back of a packet of seeds.
And, of course, there's that sheet of when I am supposed to start certain seeds indoors, when I should transplant seedlings to the garden, and by what date do I start seeds for the fall garden. All important stuff.
To prettify my plastic notebook, I wrapped fabric around the exterior of the notebook, and adhered with a rubber cement-type adhesive.
I could cover the inside ends with sheets of scrapbook paper. Maybe I'll get to that soon. For now, I'm happy with how it looks and works.
