Aesthetic 8.5 x 11 Binders – Perfect for Creating a Garden Journal
Image Credit: Zicoto

https://capitaloneshopping.com/p/aesthetic-3-ring-binder-set-of-2/6LRSR7N2Q2

Gardeners, I have finally discovered a perfect set of 8.5″ x 11″ notebook binders to house all my gardening data in one spot. Although Zicoto offers several colors of binders, I espcially love the green set. It works perfectly with my garden theme.

While you can pay much more money for a pre-made, ready-to-write garden journal, I have found that a DIY option is less structured snd more flexible for garden writers. The Aesthetic binders allow you to cuzstomize your journal to suit your own needs.

Let’s see how this system works for me:

Moments ago, I was outside, and I noticed that my forsythia had begun its springtime blooming season.

Today is only February 10, and because I have maintained a garden journal for years, I was able to find that on February 18 of last year, my forsythia was ripe with buds, but it had not bloomed. That information is important for me.

Image Credit: Zicoto

Because I have placed  calendar/planner pages inside my binder, I could quickly note this important first forsythia sighting in my journal.

Although there are other notebooks and planners for making quick notes, I prefer the 3-ring binders. I am a writer, and I am often inspired to write more than a quick note. Two winters ago, my garden was paralyzed by an ice storm. I was worried about providing food for my birds. While the sleet was peppering all around, I braved the weather to go outside and refill my birdfeeders. A single mockingbird was perched by my back door, and something about that moment touched me. I wrote the following in my journal:

Little shards of sleet fell upon the frozen ground.
A mockingbird greeted me at my back door.
Chittering chinks of ice filled the air.
Jacki Kellum Journal January 15, 2024

As I listened to the sleet falling all around me, I knew that an important time of my year was about to happen–the time to lie fallow–or to at least shift gears.

Winter is a time of lying fallow. It is a time of rest, but it is not a time to forget about nature. Even during winter, nature has a song.

A Garden Journal is a way to record nature’s songs.

After I recorded my initial comments about that day, I went back and wrote several paragraphs about my mockingbird experience, and that is where the Zicoto 3-ring binder shines. By adding inexpensive notebook paper where I need it, I can write as much as I want about anything pertinent to gardening and my cottage gardening life, and I can add to my notes as they come to me. Ultimately, I wrote about my mockingbird experiece several times, Adding multiple bits of information is simple with a 3-ring binder system.

You might note that there is a lighter binder, as well as a darker binder in this set. I have opted to add plastic sleeves to the lighter binder, and that is how I’ll organize my massive collection of seed packets. The best way to lose a bunch of seed packets is to fail to organize them. I have learned that bit of truth by experience.

There are several types of plastic sleeves for 3-ring binders. You could also dry some of your flowers and display them in your binder. And if you are a painter, like me, you could also store paintings of the plants in your garden:

Sunflower with the Blues
Jacki Kellum Watercolor Painting

As I write more and more in my garden jorunals, I’ll quickly run out of room. That is okay, I’ll just buy more binders and more inexpensive notebook paper. The main reason to DIY your own journal is that you can have all the room you need to grow.