How to Make a Garden Journal

Are you interested in learning how to make a garden journal to keep tack of your garden’s progress over the years? Today I am giving you some ideas as to how you can create your own garden journal.

If you are new to this blog: Welcome! My name is Anna and I share information on collecting antique/vintage items, refurbishing furniture and making small crafts/projects. The purpose of this blog is to show you how to use creativity and antiques to make your home beautiful. In addition to information on the blog, you can also follow me on the following social media accounts Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.

Handcrafted Society

Welcome to the Handcrafted Society! This is a group of talented bloggers who come together monthly to collectively craft creations using a shared medium or theme. This month’s theme was “books”. Each blogger created a project that incorporated or was made using a book or books.

The projects by the Handcrafted Society are fun and inspiring because we see the varied perspectives and interpretations of the theme by each participant. These women are amazingly creative in making projects for each month’s theme. Towards the conclusion of this post, you’ll find images and links to the projects made by each blogger. I hope you enjoy browsing through all the ideas these ladies have created. Simply click on the image or blog name to view their full post.

Back Story

For the last 5 years, I have kept a garden journal. This journal is not the tidy compilation of garden events that first comes to mind. In fact, my current garden journal is stuffed to the brim with old seed packets, pressed flowers, bits of soil, and plant labels.

Notes are written in the margins including:

• the dates of flowers and shrubs planted
• the first hard freeze of the season
• varieties of plants that did not survive or thrive
• pests that were particularly destructive (I’m looking at you Japanese beetles)
• dates soil was amended
• flowers and plants that flourished
• Other notes about a season – for example, this past summer was notably dry

These scribbles and plant labels help me to understand the garden. I know which plants thrive and which plants to avoid. I also get some ideas for companion planting to ward off pests. For example, this year, I am going to plant a row of garlic in the back of one bed in the hopes it will discourage deer and rabbits from eating my plants.

My previous garden journal has been immensely helpful. I can look back to determine when I planted a certain bush or flower. It helps me measure progress made in the garden. This year, I was so happy to see three of my bare root peonies burst into full bloom. It took them 3 seasons to mature to this point.

Since my current garden journal is full, I am making a new garden journal for the coming seasons.

How to Make a Garden Journal

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Supplies

The first thing we need to do is gather our supplies. Most of these supplies are available at your local craft store or big box store such as Walmart or Target. Where possible, I have provided links to online supplies.

• Composition book
• Craft Paint. (I used the color terracotta to mimic clay pots)
• Craft paint brush
• Transfers – I used transfers with a foliage motif
  • I have these
  • And these
• Fern Stamps (optional)

Step 1: Paint the Composition Book

Truthfully, you could simply use the composition book “as is”. However, I like customizing my garden journals and enjoy the process of giving them a little flair. So, the first step in the process is to paint the front and back of your composition book.

Wait for the paint to completely dry before moving on to the next step.

Step 2: Apply Transfers

Transfers can be used to customize just about anything. If you enjoy roses, lilacs or even french words – you can create a garden journal with those images. You can also use animal transfers such as rabbits, butterflies, birds and/or insects. Given we are in the middle of fall, I wanted my garden journal to reflect the current season.

Cut out your transfers first and determine how you want them to be placed on the cover.

Step 3: Apply Stamps (Optional)

This step is entirely optional. I had some fern frond stamps readily available and decided to give the garden journal a little extra depth by applying the stamps over the transfers.

I simply applied gold paint to the stamps and then pressed the stamp onto the front of the garden journal cover.

Step 4: Add Final Transfers

Once the paint from the stamps had dried, I applied some final transfers to the front of the garden journal.

As shown above, I layered on some additional transfers including some mushrooms and a beetle. Now I have a custom garden journal ready for use!

Book Projects from the Handcrafted Society

Below are other projects that incorporated the theme of “books” created by the ladies in the Handcrafted Society. These ladies are all tremendously talented so be sure to visit their sites for more inspiration.

In Closing

This is a fun and easy way to make your own garden journal. The options are endless. Additionally, you can create customized journals for loved ones. You could make a garden journal for a friend or relative and gift it to them with a packet of seeds and gardening gloves. Happy Creating!

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