By AMANDA ZAMBRONO
Master Gardener Intern

A garden journal is a great project to start up this time year, as things are winding down outside. The blustery days have come, with wind and rain and the promise of snow just around the corner. Our gardens have mostly gone to sleep, in spite of the unusually warm fall we’re having.

I have my eye on a lovely journal I spotted on Amazon, called My Green Thumb by Gail Holmen (sad news, it looks like it may be out of print, although copies are still available online). It has plenty of space for planning new beds, tracking my successes and plotting solutions to my failures.

There are countless ways to do this, and you don’t need a fancy book to do it, although there are many lovely garden journals available. A simple spiral bound notebook, a Word document, or a three-ring binder will all suit as well. If you’re more tech savvy, check out an app for your tablet or smart phone such as Life or Garden Plan Pro.

Winter is a good time to curl up by the fire with something warm to drink and your garden journal. Sketch out your landscape, making note of colors by season, things that may need to be removed, or things getting too large for their space. Then look for holes to fill, areas that need more seasonal interest, or areas that need to be revamped. Use your journal for cataloging ideas, keeping clippings from gardening catalogs, and sketching out new beds.

Journals can also be used for charting out the coming gardening year: when to put in your early spring vegetables, when to cut back your lilacs, when to fertilize your lawn. Throughout the coming year, you can make notes of what you did when and then record the results. This will be helpful when considering switching fertilizers or trying a new variety of peas.

Whether you’re an organized planner, a creative dreamer or some combination of the two, garden journaling is a great way to enjoy your garden throughout the year and make improvements in the years to come.

Amanda Zambrano is the director of advancement at Grace Village Retirement Community. She is a master gardener intern, just learning the ins and outs of successful gardening.

Along with her master gardener volunteering, Amanda serves on the board of directors for the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, the Symphony of the Lakes committee and a Kosciusko County Community Foundation scholarship committee. She plays flute for the Symphony of the Lakes and enjoys hand-quilting, baking and reading. She is also an occasional blogger. Amanda lives in Warsaw with her husband Dan and her son Alexander.