Connect with nature with a garden journal
A garden or nature journal is a great way to slow down , reconnect with the natural world and get to know your garden better . Carrie Carlson is an artist and instructor who brings her diary with her wherever she go . When she sees something interesting , whether it ’s in her yard or on one of her favorite walks , she attain a quick sketch or takes a few notes . Whether you ’re concerned in embark on a journal to keep better records of your garden or would like another outlet for your creativity , Carrie has some tips that can help .
Ask questions and record what you see
Keeping ajournalis about really paying tending to the creation around you and using icon , words or even numbers to record what you see . you could include sketches , as Carrie does — see some of her diary pages here — or even write a poem . Or you may simply note facts : Count blooms , record dates , keep runway of weather outcome . Everyone notices different thing and has their own mode — there ’s no right or incorrect way to keep a journal !
If getting started seems restrain and you do n’t eff what to put in your diary , Carrie suggests concentrate on one plant or a small area of the garden that you delight . Then take care at it from different angles , count the plants , petals or leaves and note where are they positioned and how they relate to others nearby . Get curious and ask yourself questions about what you see .
If you come across a new plant , insect or birdie , try not to insure a playing field guide or your phone to identify it at first . assume the time to seem carefully will meliorate your data-based skills and provide you with item to fill your diary .
When Carrie is teach a stratum on journaling , she has the group walk through an exercise she learned from nature journaling guru , John Muir Laws . It serve students get started and build confidence : She portion out a exposure of her two cats looking out the door and offer the students these writing prompts :
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Observe garden patterns in your journal
By mention details large and small in the garden or on a daily walk , you ’ll distinguish things you had n’t discover before , such as which flush are most democratic with butterflies vs. bees , when the backyard border has the most flowers or which vegetable have the good harvesting or fewerpest trouble . Carrie like to keep a perpetual diary : She revisits the same spots over 10 daylight several times each year . From yr to class and calendar month to calendar month , different industrial plant stand out . The sketch above highlight some of the observations in her unceasing journal . Reviewing past journals can aid bring to tripping seasonal timeline or trends that might have slipped your notice . These insights can help oneself you make avegetable garden more productive , molding more flowery and your garden the shoes you ’ve always dreamed it would be .
Tips for choosing your garden journal
In her years of journaling , Carrie ’s developed some best-loved pens , paper and other tips . Here are a few thing to look for :
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