7 of the Best Gardening Journals

By now you’ve most likely began desirous about how precisely you’d like to make use of your gardening journal and what type would work greatest for you, so let’s begin exploring seven of the very best choices that I’ve discovered.

1. The Backyard Journal, Planner, and Log E-book

Our first choice is “The Backyard Journal, Planner, and Log E-book” by Pleasure Kieffer, revealed by Hidden Cache Media.

Backyard Journal, Planner, and Log E-book

When Kieffer realized she wasn’t doing a great job of conserving observe of her plantings, counting on her reminiscence alone, she began trying into choices for conserving good data.

Unhappy with the alternatives accessible, Kieffer determined to design her personal gardening journal.

She drew on her various background in horticulture, artwork, the print trade, and her writing expertise to create this e book, a robust device for plant report conserving.

A close up of an internal page of the book "The Garden Journal, Planner and Log Book" showing a one year plan, black text with lines on a white background.
Photograph by Pleasure Kieffer.

Kieffer’s creation comprises a mess of logs for conserving observe of particular person crops – together with annuals, perennials, vines, bulbs, fruit, veggies, herbs, shrubs, timber – and even hardscaping.

A close up of an internal page of the book "The Garden Journal, Planner and Log Book" showing a grid to record weather information, with black text on a white background.
Photograph by Pleasure Kieffer.

It additionally comprises kinds so that you can report climate, bloom and harvest instances, cultivation and propagation, and any pest and illness issues you encounter, in addition to remedies you attempt.

Along with these many report conserving choices, there are pages providing useful ideas and steering on climate, plant propagation, pruning, pest and illness prevention, in addition to soil testing and amendments.

A close up of a page of the book "The Garden Journal, Planner and Log Book" with black text on a white background.
Photograph by Pleasure Kieffer.

And it comprises loads of graph paper pages – useful for drawing scaled designs – to design and plan your rows or beds for 4 years.

Measuring 8.5 by 11 inches with its binding on the prime, this journal opens like a calendar, has 250 pages, and can lie flat – an necessary function while you’re engaged on a desk stuffed with seed packets and need your pocket book to behave.

Due to the huge array of logs on this e book, it’s greatest suited to those that are already considerably skilled, who would admire having a handy and arranged solution to maintain thorough data of their backyard adventures.

Pleasure Kieffer’s “Backyard Journal, Planner, and Log E-book” is accessible from Amazon.

2. Gardener’s Log E-book: A 5-Yr Planner

The New York Botanical Backyard created this subsequent choice, revealed by Clarkson Potter, entitled “Gardener’s Log E-book: A 5-Yr Planner.”

This is a wonderful multi-year alternative for individuals who need the pliability to create their very own construction inside a journal, and for individuals who would admire seasonal reminders all year long.

This planner comprises to-do lists in a chart format, so you may verify off duties as you undergo the seasons.

These duties – together with these pertaining to perennials, ornamentals, shrubs, timber, bulbs, houseplants, and annual greens – may be in contrast aspect by aspect for a five-year interval.

In your planning and design classes, it has loads of pages of graph paper, and for notice taking, lined pages.

It has a hybrid binding – with a water-proof arduous cowl exterior and spiral certain inside – making it simple for this planner to lie flat.

So far as steering goes, it comprises appendices with data on composting, rising in containers, pruning, and pests and ailments – and a plant hardiness map for the US.

Its dimensions are smallish, at 5.3 by 7.6 inches.

It consists of 240 pages and comes with an elastic closure – a function that’s particularly helpful if you end up within the behavior, like I’m, of putting seed packets and slips of paper or pictures that you simply’ve saved inside.

Gardener’s Log E-book: A 5-Yr Planner

Since this alternative isn’t closely guided, it will be well-suited for individuals who have already got some expertise and preferring creating their very own note-taking construction.

The “Gardener’s Log E-book: A 5-Yr Planner” by the New York Botanical Backyard is on the market by way of Amazon.

3. My Gardening Handbook

A variety hailing from Nice Britain, “My Gardening Handbook” is a pleasant alternative for the sustainably minded, as its pages are created from recycled paper.

My Gardening Handbook

It has loads of room for conserving data of particular person crops – excellent in case you are planting decorative perennials, shrubs, or timber, or if you wish to maintain tabs in your houseplants.

A top down picture of an open gardening journal with seed packets, some soil, gardening tools, and supplies, set on a white surface.

It comprises a glossary of terminology, graphics that can assist you acknowledge generally used instruments, an inventory of edible crops and flowers, and different ideas – making this alternative very helpful for rookies.

A close up of an open book showing two pages side by side. On the left page are images of garden tools and supplies and to the right is dark gray text.

Have you ever ever visited an arboretum and wished you can replicate what you noticed at residence? This journal has devoted pages for noting visits and inspirations.

And because the finish sport of rising crops is usually getting meals into your mouth, it additionally has pages for jotting down recipes made along with your homegrown produce.

A close up of an open book with black writing and various highlighted text.

A hefty, hardcover possibility that lies flat, it comprises 300 pages, is created from recycled, acid-free paper, and measures 6.5 by 9 inches.

A close up of the open internal pages of "My Gardening Handbook" with a pen, set on the top of a chicken wire frame with strawberry plants growing in the ground.

With useful ideas and loads of room for planning, designing, and notice taking, it is a nice possibility for gardeners in any respect ranges, together with rookies.

“My Gardening Handbook” by Suck UK is on the market with a inexperienced or black cowl from Amazon.

4. My Gardening Journal

“My Gardening Journal,” revealed by Quiet Fox Designs, is a straightforward journal with a cute design that covers 4 years within the backyard.

My Gardening Journal

The majority of the e book is devoted to particular person plant logs. You’ll be able to write within the historical past of a plant, pest issues, bloom, harvest, and yield data for as much as 55 crops – with 4 years’ value of logs per plant.

There are graph pages for mapping out 4 years of designs, every accompanied by a web page to report targets, soil, climate, pests, and reflections for the yr.

The house devoted to that is pretty restricted and could be greatest suited to a smaller rising setup.

There are additionally a number of extra lined pages for notes, and some clean pages meant for sketches or pictures of crops.

It comprises logs for conserving data of your compost, the solar (to trace areas of full solar, partial shade, and shade), and any pest and illness issues.

This journal consists of some useful data as properly – resembling hardiness zone maps for the US and Canada, a instruments guidelines, and companion planting data.

It’s embellished with cute botanical illustrations and provoking quotes all through, and consists of an elastic closure.

A small-sized possibility, it measures 6 by 8 inches, comprises 160 pages, and is printed on acid-free paper. This e book doesn’t lie flat simply by itself, so you will want to weigh it down or maintain it open while you’re utilizing it.

With its concentrate on report conserving for particular person crops, it is a good possibility for individuals who want to observe their decorative or edible perennials, timber, or houseplants.

It’s additionally a pleasant alternative for rookies who’re getting began with rising greens or herbs in containers, or in a small variety of raised beds.

“My Gardening Journal” is accessible at Amazon.

5. Outside Journals: The Gardener’s Journal

“Outside Journals: The Gardener’s Journal” is a part of a collection of diaries designed for outside lovers, created by writer Weldon Owen.

These diaries enable hikers, chicken watchers, campers, cyclists, anglers – and naturally, gardeners – to maintain data of their time in nature pursuing their pastime of alternative.

With a inexperienced hardcover and a compact, slim profile, Weldon Owen’s dairy for plant rising lovers is each useful and sensible.

A close up horizontal image of a green book on a wooden surface with a hand from the right of the frame opening it up.

This gardening diary is split into three sections: the primary part is devoted to plant logs, the second part is a five-year backyard planner, and the final part comprises pages for sketching designs or taking notes.

Let’s look a bit extra on the particulars of every of those sections.

The plant log part consists of an index, so you may notate after which simply discover the specimens you’re searching for amongst your data.

Every log entry has two pages. The primary web page bears a dot grid for taking notes or sketching drawings. The second web page consists of prompts for recording primary rising necessities resembling solar, water, and soil wants.

A close up horizontal image of two hands from the right of the frame writing in a gardening journal that is set on a wooden surface.

Segments throughout the plant log additionally immediate the grower to notice circumstances the plant is weak to, in addition to circumstances that enable the specimen to thrive.

The second part of the diary comprises pages for yearly plans. This simplified planner has simply two pages per yr, and consists of prompts to notice targets, new crops and initiatives, and anticipated challenges.

A close up of the inner pages of "The Gardener's Journal"

The planner part additionally has a yearly chart the place gardeners can notice plant names, planting dates, and bloom or harvest instances.

The third part, with clean and dot grid pages, can be utilized for drawing designs, notice taking, sketching crops, or pasting in pictures.

This journal comes with an connected orange ribbon bookmark, an elastic closure, and an inside pocket that can be utilized to retailer seed packets or plant tags.

A close up horizontal image of a gardener with an open book in front of them set on a wooden surface.

It comprises 168 pages and is available in a slim dimension at 5.75 by 8.25 inches, making it simple for toting round.

This selection might be helpful for individuals who want to maintain observe of specimens resembling perennials, timber, shrubs, and even houseplants, in addition to planning out a potager.

Nevertheless, this diary could be greatest suited to these with some earlier expertise, who don’t want the steering supplied by a few of the different alternatives.

A close up of the cover of "The Gardener's Journal" isolated on a white background.

Outside Journals: The Gardener’s Journal

“Outside Journals: The Gardener’s Journal” is on the market for buy from Weldon Owen by way of Walmart.

6. RHS A Gardener’s 5 Yr Document E-book

Right here’s an possibility for the inexperienced thumb who doesn’t require extra steering, and already is aware of what they should write down: “A Gardener’s 5 Yr Document E-book” by the Royal Horticultural Society.

A Gardener’s 5 Yr Document E-book

The majority of this e book is comprised of weekly planners designed to be used over 5 years, the place you may report climate, crops in bloom, duties, and extra notes.

Info is recorded week by week in a desk format, making it simple to check notes over a five-year interval.

It additionally comprises sections the place you may checklist crops to purchase, plant suppliers, addresses, and gardens to go to. In case you run out of room in these formatted sections, there’s an extra part on the again containing clean pages that you should utilize as you would like.

This report e book is adorned with stunning botanical illustrations from the Royal Horticultural Society’s library, courting from the seventeenth and 18th centuries.

It comprises 144 pages, has a bigger format at 8.4 by 9.3 inches, and is flexibound, permitting it to simply lie flat. It additionally has a ribbon bookmark to carry your spot.

A close up picture of the internal pages of the Royal Horticultural Society "A Gardener's Five Year Record Book" showing gridlines and colorful illustrations on the top of the frame.

With its elegant illustrations and streamlined report conserving system, this may be a beautiful present for a seasoned plant grower, notably one who focuses on ornamentals, resembling orchids.

You will discover “A Gardener’s 5 Yr Document E-book” by the Royal Horticulture Society by way of Amazon.

7. A Yr within the Backyard: A Guided Journal

“A Yr within the Backyard: A Guided Journal” was created by sibling duo Nina and Sonya Montenegro, who’re based mostly in Portland, Oregon.

The 2 dwell and work on an natural farm, and collectively they created this inventive and heartfelt technique of recording and planning one’s rising experiences.

This selection is fantastic should you’d like a single-year journal with a really robust, guided construction, and a inventive design – in truth, it is without doubt one of the most stunning journals I’ve ever come throughout.

“A Yr within the Backyard” is organized into months, and so may be very useful as a planner. It has clean month-to-month calendars the place you may write in duties or accomplishments, weekly planners, and month-to-month trackers.

It additionally comprises useful reminders every month – although these are oriented extra for these in northern climates, becoming with the authors’ location within the Pacific Northwest.

It comprises pages with dot grids for designing your backyard structure, in addition to loads of clean pages for notice taking.

Every month comes with prompts, not solely on duties or plans to finish, however with questions compelling the person in additional contemplative methods, turning this into a spot for reflection in addition to for conserving data.

There’s a ribbon marker so that you can bookmark your spot, and an elastic closure to maintain the pocket book closed.

If all the useful options of “A Yr within the Backyard” weren’t already sufficient, it might do double responsibility as a coloring e book – the attractive illustrations all through are designed to be coloured, so to really make this journal your personal, or experiment with colourful layouts and pairings to be used in your personal backyard plots and beds.

The e book has 272 pages and its dimensions are 6.8 x 9.2 inches, making it a bit narrower and longer than a normal composition e book. The binding will enable the e book to lie flat.

A Yr within the Backyard

This can be a nice possibility irrespective of your degree of expertise – excellent for each the newbie and the extra seasoned gardener who needs to dig extra deeply into their plant rising.

“A Yr within the Backyard” from Timber Press is accessible from Amazon.

Three DIY Bonus Choices

Whereas the choices described above are extraordinarily helpful, not all gardeners are searching for a formatted journal. A few of us like the pliability of utilizing a pocket book, and creating our personal techniques of report conserving.

A close up of a notebook open, with blank pages and leaves surrounding it with a pen to the left of the frame set on a stone surface.

For this function, notebooks stuffed with both clean pages, graph paper, or dot grids are excellent. Listed here are a few of my favourite notebooks for making a DIY backyard journal:

1. Cognitive Surplus Hardcover Honey Bees Pocket book

In case you just like the slim, smaller profile of a few of the above choices however desire to create your personal gardening journey, the Hardcover Dot Grid Honey Bees Pocket book from Cognitive Surplus could be a superb alternative.

I’m an enormous fan of Cognitive Surplus’s paper merchandise. They’ve stunning notebooks, planners, and stationery, all of that are created from 100% recycled paper and have science-inspired covers.

Their Hardcover Honey Bees pocket book comprises pages printed with dot grids, which give people extra construction than a clean web page, however are extra versatile than graph paper.

A close up of white pages with printed dot grid for landscape planning.

This pocket book has a yellow hardcover embellished with a bee theme – making it excellent for diarists who’re followers of pollinators and who get pleasure from taking a do-it-yourself strategy.

The Hardcover Honey Bees Pocket book comprises 160 clean pages of heavy, 86-pound, 100% recycled paper.

The pocket book is 4 inches by six inches and lays flat, making it simple to make use of within the area.

This choice would work properly for a inexperienced thumb with a excessive quotient of creativity, one who appreciates the pliability of deciding how every web page might be used.

Cognitive Surplus Hardcover Dot Grid Honey Bees Pocket book

The Hardcover Honey Bees Dot Grid Pocket book is on the market for buy from the Cognitive Surplus Retailer by way of Amazon.

2. Ceremony within the Rain All-Climate Common Discipline E-book

If you’re the actually rugged kind who needs one thing that can maintain as much as your outdoorsy way of life (or somewhat neglect), a weatherproof possibility is perhaps what you want.

Ceremony within the Rain All-Climate Common Discipline E-book

You received’t have to fret about an unintended spray from the hose if in case you have this weatherproof pocket book at your aspect.

You’ll be able to even write on the pages with pencil or ballpoint pen when they’re moist.

The pages of this pocket book function a really versatile common sample, which you should utilize as both lined paper or graph paper.

It additionally features a reference part with Imperial and metric rulers, useful for monitoring plant peak and unfold or the scale of your crop yields, in addition to a conversion desk and map scale.

The waterproof and recyclable paper is archival high quality and will final lots of of years – so you may go down your backyard notebooks to your great-great-grandchildren!

With 160 pages, this hardcover e book has a Fabrikoid synthetic leather-based cowl with rounded corners, and sewn-in pages. It measures 6.75 by 8.75 inches, and can lie flat when open.

This DIY possibility is ideal for individuals who desire a device that can stand as much as the weather, from springtime showers to sweaty summer time days and sprinkler runs.

The Ceremony within the Rain Weatherproof Pocket book is available in black, blue, grey, brown, inexperienced, tan, and yellow and is accessible from Amazon.

3. Unruled Traditional Spiral Certain Clean Pocket book

Typically a set of clean pages is what’s to ensure that recording, planning, and celebrating one’s rising adventures, and the Unruled Traditional Spiral Certain Clean Pocket book gives what it takes to do exactly that.

This pocket book comprises 70 sheets of paper which have a clean end and comprise 30 p.c recycled content material.

The paper is 60-pound weight so there shouldn’t be any some telescoping or bleeding by means of onto the backs of pages.

A square image of an open spiral-bound book with notes on grid paper set on a wooden surface.

This selection holds up properly to the damage and tear that comes with being lugged in and outside, and because it’s spiral certain, there might be no obstacles to creating it lie flat.

The Unruled Traditional Spiral Certain Clean Pocket book measures 10.59 by 8.86 by 1.42 inches and comprises paper that’s serrated for straightforward elimination.

This pocket book is a good DIY possibility for individuals who need the liberty to tear out pages, rework designs, and usually deal with this pocket book as a planning device somewhat than an archival report.

Set of three Unruled Traditional Spiral Certain Clean Notebooks

The Unruled Traditional Spiral Certain Clean Pocket book is on the market for buy in units of three from the Unruled Retailer by way of Amazon.

Once I first began rising my very own greens, herbs, and flowers, I began massive – with 12 four-by-four-foot raised beds to plant in. With so many beds, I needed to have some solution to plan my crops and maintain observe of which selection was planted the place.

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