If you are a true plant lover, then you should definitely consider keeping a plant journal—a great way to have fun with your plants and take better care of them! There are many different ways to keep a journal. The following guide will help you learn the basics of how to plan, start, and maintain a plant journal!
What is a Plant Journal?
A plant journal keeps a record of the growth of your plants and helps you to plan, organize, and better understand your care routine.
Some people choose to keep a plant journal to remind them about watering and fertilizing; other people showcase their love of plants and create an interesting and creative record of what they grow in their indoor garden.
The beauty of plant journals is that you can customize them to your personal preferences. You can choose to keep a sparse, calendar-based journal that acts as a reminder of your plant’s needs; or create a broader journal with drawings, dried leaves or stems, and more.
How to Keep a Plant Journal: Step by Step
Step One: Purchase or make a journal
You can choose to purchase a blank journal from retail or craft stores, or you can make your own by using paper, binding material, and so on. Some people choose to use a binder so that they can add in pages easily—a good idea if you plan on adding more plants or sections to your journal.
Step Two: Create a section for every indoor plant
It's time to create a section for every plant you are growing! A section dedicated to every indoor plant will help you organize your thoughts, your care schedule, and other important information.
If you are using a binder, it will be fairly easy to organize with pre-existing tabs and labels. If you're using a traditional journal or have created your own, you can create your own tabs using sticky notes, plastic labels, and so on.
If you aren't using a binder, remember to leave enough pages in between each plant so that you can record important information.
Step Three: Create a calendar to track your actions
Remember to create a calendar for each plant—it will help you track important tasks such as watering, fertilizing, pruning, rotating, and other essential actions you need to take regularly to keep your plants healthy and happy.
If you plan on tracking multiple types of information, it is a good idea to create a guide based on colors, symbols, or other ways to track how often you water, fertilized, and so on. For example, you can use a blue highlighter to mark the days when you’ve watered your plant, a yellow marker to mark the days when you’ve pruned the leaves, etc.
Step Four: Take notes on what works (and doesn’t) for your plant
Growing plants can be difficult. A plant journal will help you remember what works and what doesn’t work for your plant. Your notes should include information regarding your plants overall growth pattern, light requirements, whether or not your plant is blossoming (if it is a blooming plant); as well as any indications of problems, such as root rot or falling leaves.
This type of note-taking is essential: knowing what works for certain species of plants can be very helpful in improving your gardening skills.
Step Five: Add illustrations or other media
Many people find it fun and educational to add illustrations to their plant journal. You can add your own drawing, print out photographs or illustrations or stickers. Some plant lovers attach actual plant material such as dried flower petals, dried leaves, or even stems.
The endless ways that you can customize your journal with photos, illustrations, and other media can truly make your plant journal something special!
Step Six: Maintain your journal
Maintain your journal on a regular basis. How often you write in your journal will depend on what type of information you are including, as well as how often you need to add notes, track watering, and so on. As a good rule of thumb, write in your journal at least once a day. This will help you get to the habit of maintaining the journal without making it a chore.
If you get stuck on what to add to a journal, look online for plant journal samples to get ideas!
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