Hello, All: I use the Neil Sperry gardening calendar and have done for 2 decades. Neil is an A&M-trained horticulturist who has had a radio program for 30+ years in the DFW Meteroplex and now has a monthly newsletter for all of Texas as well as the calendars and magazines. He's our Texas guru - the university research antithesis of the local, but also popular organic 'Dirt Doctor'. The calendars have a square for each day where I pencil in the temps and rain or whatever and the item(s) I'm focusing on that day. Of course, on busy gardening days I have to use a sort of shorthand, and for detailed analysis, I use a writing tablet of some sort and I save those. I like to go back years later and read one of my monthly reports from a garden walk-around. When I do that, I just jot down everything that occurs to me as I walk whether it's an observation of a plant or a note to myself to do better next time. What I really like about using the garden calender is that I can pick up a calendar for whatever year I want to refer to and turn to that month and see what was happening and compare it to what's happening in the current year. I can see when the ice storms hit and what damage was done and I can see how long a drought lasted and what I did about it. I can see when I sprayed for nutgrass and when it's time to spray again or when I started using Ornamec on the bermuda that crept into the liriope. I note when I took a tree out and what difference it made and how well the plants did with more sun or whether I had to rearrange the plants or replace them. I make a note of what kind of mulch I use and when I order bulk compost and how much. I can look back and remind myself what varieties I tried and when I lost them. : ( My calendars turn out to be kind of a table like Kay uses, but w/o as much detail and organized by month and day instead of location in the garden. I started getting the calendars because they came with my N.S. Texas Gardens magazine subscription, but as years went by, the calendars have come to mean much more to me than the magazine. I now want more detailed info than I can get in the magazine, and it's so easy to locate it online. I keep intending to punch holes in the calendars and put them in a binder and make a kind of book. (They're all the same size so this would be possible.) I've saved a couple of oversized binders for this, but I never can decide if I want to order the book by month or by year. As soon as I decide that I want to order my book by months (like having chapters of Januarys or Februarys, etc.) so I can flip through and see what happened in all years in the winter or summer or spring, I then realize that I really like being able to grab a calendar and see the progress of the garden from month to month for that particular year. Oh well. At the bottom of each month of calendar squares, Neil lists must-do garden tasks for particular areas of Texas as well as cautions and other reminders. This is not so valuable now that I've grown as a gardener and don't need the reminders. Now I'd rather have more space to write. But all in all, I'm really glad I have the calendars and have kept records. Here's the location of the calendars - I put the info in as a link, but haven't done that before and don't know if I'm doing it right. http://www.neilsperry.com/store/neil-sperrys-texas-gardening-calendar/neil-sperrys-2012-texas-gardening-calendar.html I've enjoyed learning what you all do or don't do. It probably reflects our various personalities and the business of our lives, and I feel I know you a little better. Lou Here is a link that might be useful: Neil Sperry's Texas Gardening Calendar

I have never been much of a journalist but last year I finally started a gardening/homesteading journal. It's in an ordinary bound composition book and is threatening to turn into a monster as it grows larger and more in-depth. I wish I'd started it three years ago when we first found Dun Hagan as there are some small details of that first year that I've simply forgotten, but the major stuff I managed to get down on paper. My exact style is under steady evolution, but at this point in time I have stuff broken down by general plant types - blackberries, blueberries, citrus, pears, azaleas, camellias, daylillies, etc., and some other general categories like fertilizers and soil amendments, grounds general, equipment and so on. Just recently created a fertilization chart so that I can keep more accurate track of when I fertilized what using what sort of fertilizer without having to go through pages of notes. No more double feeding or skipping one because I misremembered. In the back I have an envelope I keep purchase receipts in, mostly for perennials like fruit plants, ornamentals and so on and important stuff that I may need the receipt for later. It's a nuisance at times to keep up with the thing but I have so much stuff going on now that if I don't start keeping a written record I'll start forgetting important details for sure and then will begin to make stupid mistakes. I make enough of those as it is! It is nice as Meldy_nVA mentions to go back and read old entries when you can't get out to do anything or just don't have the oomph to do it. Pretty soon now I'll begin experimenting with budding and grafting my own trees so keeping written records will be even more important then. Anyone who does more than occasional gardening ought to keep some sort of written records of what they've done. .....Alan.

I wish I had kept a garden journal sooner  I have found that over the years I repeated the same mistakes or bought a plant again that didnÂt survive a few years earlier & didnÂt again  If I would have keep a record of what had not survived I would of saved myself time and money. Since I like keeping track of other things I do at home & at work I started garden journaling. Garden journals or a diary can really help keep you on track. I tried several that were very limiting as to what you could do with them. I like keeping receipts handy for guarantees, a place to list & keep pictures what I want to buy, do or try this fall or next year. Compare weather/growing conditions from year to year, etc. etc. Well, there is a 3 ring binder garden recordkeeping system that does all that and provides flexibility for individual needs. It even has hybridizing charts, forms to write fertilizer & weed control successes & failures and more. Lots of room to write down all your notes and thoughts. I really, really like. What a time saver and it keeps everything in one place. So I wanted to share this with you since it is hard to find journals that offer this much. You can check it out at aGardenersJournal.com Here is a link that might be useful: A Gardener's Journal: Plan, Plant, Grow...Record the Results

i have aconitum arendsi and it is wonderful. it was very floppy when i had in more shade but then I relocated them to a sunnier area though still partial shade. they did much better and multiply every year. i still pinch them back when they are about 3 feet tall back to about 1.5 to 2 feet tall. this delays the bloom period a few weeks but creats a denser bushier plant with sturdier stems. i recommend that the stainless steel cultivar be pinched back in the same manner to help it behave better. i would do it with all aconitums. Sue "The one thing all gardeners share in common is a belief in tomorrow"