January brings a clean slate to life; the holidays have come and gone, and that fruitcake sits quietly in the yard untouched by humans, but coveted by hungry marauding creatures. The garden clean up that I almost finished will have to wait for a few months while winter passes, and I’m okay with that. It’s a perfect time to gather my thoughts and jot down my ideas for the coming growing season.

A garden journal can not only hold your deepest gardening desires–like those lush perennial flower beds you meant to plant last year–but your journal can also inspire you to plant early enough to make those desires a reality. By planning ahead, before the hectic growing season is upon us, we can save money by planting seeds instead of buying plants. Thus we can create the garden that we truly want, instead of just relying on the limited plant stock of the commercial growers. This month we begin the first step in creating our own garden journals: collecting inspiration from books and magazines.

Gathering a collage of pictures of your favorite plants and gardens is always the best place to start when creating your gardening journal…

Now is the time to pull out the old magazines that you’ve accumulated, the gardening books, and of course, your 2011 Botanical Interests seed catalog . You can also scan pages and print copies if you wish to leave your books and magazines intact. Either go through the pages with a pen and sticky notes, or simply cut out the pictures you want to keep. I prefer the second method because it allows me to eliminate clutter by recycling the unused portion of the magazines, and it also creates a very specific wish list that I can easily reference.

This month, focus on finding pictures of gardens that inspire you, and collect all the images of plants and garden designs that you want to use in your own garden. Here are a few tips of my own when looking for your own garden ideas:

Define your style. Whether you are starting from scratch or looking to enhance an existing garden, it is important to decide what is your personal style of gardening.  A formal design style is distinctly neat and organized, with clean lines and symmetrical patterns. In contrast, a cottage-style garden is much more informal, and often includes a variety of native plants, herbs and vegetables.

When working with an established garden design that works for you, fill in any gaps with choices that compliment your existing plants. To increase visual appeal, try groups of plants with varying textures, assorted heights and unusual color combinations.

The first step in creating a successful garden journal is establishing this visual organization of your ideas.  So, grab your scissors and a cup of tea, and dream of spring…Susan D.