 |
| From In the Garden |
I use Excel to keep track of all my plants, bloom times, rainfall, and significant events in the garden (like when I spot the first tick-March 7, 2011-yuck). Excel is simple to use and I can organize it however I like. A good thing since I can be fickle with keeping records. When I first began keeping track of my garden in my "garden catalog" I logged all plants onto one spreadsheet. That spreadsheet got to be out of control so I have now placed the plants into categories like "Shrubs and Trees" or "Bulbs, corms, irises, daylilies". I am still refining my method but I feel pretty confident I have a good handle on all plants in the garden and that is a big relief when researching and planning my garden. One easy spreadsheet that I've had no problem organizing is the bloom time spreadsheet and I show it to you above.
I began blogging in September 2007 and because of this blog I thought it would be cool to keep track of bloom times not only for my personal use but I thought local folks could use the information when planning their gardens. A side benefit is figuring out just how far off bloom times can be from year to year. Let me first say this, I log a plant as bloomed whenever I see one bloom-the very first bloom. I used to keep track of peak bloom and when a plant was out of bloom but it got to be too subjective so now I simply log the first bloom. I log it the same way every year so you can be sure all of these bloom times are done accurately. Can you see there are ranges from one week to up to four weeks from year to year ? Wow! Some of the changes can be accounted for by the weather the previous year, current year weather, and also whether or not a plant is newly planted or not. Sometimes I try to figure out why plants have lag times or bloom earlier but what I really use this spreadsheet for is to look forward to what should be blooming next! Based on last year's bloom times I can expect the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) to bloom next followed by 'Trevi Fountain' pulmonaria and so on. It's looking good for the pulmonaria to bloom but the Christmas rose is no where close to blooming. Oh well. I just get a kick out of expecting a certain plant to bloom and knowing what is coming next and also what has happened in prior years....
in the garden....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
Hi Tina, I love your spreadsheet, but I'm never going to make one - I can see how it would useful to know what's about to happen. All my photos are organized by date, so I suppose that's how I know we're at least three weeks behind this year. The first tick? hmmm
ReplyDeleteI used to do the same when I started sowing. I just maintained a spreadsheet that recorded the date I sowed the seeds, expected germination time, and actual germination time, but eventually I became lazy and forgot all about it. Seeing your post reminds me of it.
ReplyDeleteI plan to start sowing today and may be I should resolve to myself that I'll maintain the spreadsheet diligently this time, because, as you said it helps planning for next year a great deal.
Thanks a ton, Tina :)
Wonderful worksheet in Excel! Such meticulous record-keeping!
ReplyDeleteFor those who want a free spreadsheet, Google Docs has that. Works very similar to Excel, but not quite as many bells and whistles. It can also be shared online.
I like your use of spread sheets. I haven't started listing all my plants in spread sheets yet. I'm currently trying to tag all my former posts with a "property of..." link for future post stealers. Ha!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how much bloom time can vary. Weather is a big factor. Plants are smart. They perform when the weather's right. People plan things by the calendar. Sometimes, it doesn't work well with Mother Nature.
Hi Tina, I try to photograph things as they bloom and then use the photos as a record. (Just helped me figure out when my witch hazel bloomed last year!) Of course this is more thorough. For winter sowing, I keep a similar chart listing what seeds, from where, I sowed when, and when they then sprout and when I planted them out. I do it as a table in Word. :)
ReplyDeleteGood morning all! Rainy here so you know what that means? A day of paperwork inside the house:(
ReplyDeleteCyndy, Those ticks are awful! Got my first bite yesterday. I tell you they are wicked.
Hi Chandramouli, So glad to hear from you and see you are back to blogging. Yup, those spreadsheets work pretty well-when we keep up with them that is;)
Cameron, I love that Excel for all things but wish I knew more about linking cells. Google docs is great for so many things. Thanks for sharing that as I may have to check it out one day.
GOSS, That would be a lot of work marking all those pics indeed. Bummer folks feel a need to steal others work. Total bummer. I also have a book like yours with all my tags. I organized mine by botanical name though. It is nice to look at but I do love my spreadsheet.
Good morning Monica, I've been thinking about you lately because I also winter sowed this year. The first time since that year you taught me about it and you know what? Plants are actually growing! Now if I can translate them to the garden I'll be a happy gardener. I do keep track of them on the spreadsheet too. My pics, wooo, I can't organize anything with them or find anything with them. Maybe one day.
ReplyDeleteSpread sheets help with so very many things. I love keeping track of when I plant and harves first of the different veggies. It does give you something to look forward to. I think this year I may be doing a little whinning when I read what was from last year with the very early spring we had last year.
ReplyDeleteThink positive Mom! Just because you may be a bit behind is not a bad thing. Sometimes it is even a good thing as plants can catch up very fast and conditions might be better later.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Tina and it sure is neat to compare from year to year when they are blooming. Maybe someday I will try that but for now I just guess or look at old pictures for the date:) Have a great day! So exciting we are starting the last 9 week marking period. Woo-hoo -summer will be here before we know it:0) Ciao
ReplyDelete81 Degrees yesterday and expecting more today so you know where I will be. In the Garden! This sinus mess is not keeping me out any longer as I am going strong. Calling for high count of pine pollen today…
ReplyDeleteYour spread sheets are impressive but I would be too lazy to keep them. I file all pictures in dates so I would refer to them. But believe it or not, I like the surprise element of when something blooms! Things blooming real early this year down here with the wonderful early warm days but I have yet to look up the dates. Just happy to see the flowers I guess…
If I can sit still long enough I would love to make one of these...oh wait..I have children that are way smarter than me and love to work on the computer...I may have a garden spread sheet sooner than I realize!!
ReplyDeleteA spread sheet? Hmmm, interesting thought. I figured I was doing well to have a written list in a notebook. I also use the photos with the digital time/date stamp as a reminder of when things bloom, leaf out or turn their fall colors.
ReplyDeleteThe spreadsheet is a grand notion. I've used spreadsheets to budget for bulbs and such. Mine were mostly an exercise in learning google docs spreadsheet.
ReplyDeleteI see by your records that I was correct about daffodils being much earlier this year than last. I verified mine by looking at the dates on last year's blog posts. I like photos with my data -- I guess you could add thumbnails into the spreadsheet?
Tina, I too use Excel for the same reason. Been doing it now for eight years. And, as you say I am not compulsive, I do it to compare year upon year. It is most interesting to me to see that in just eight years some plants are blooming way earlier than before, interesting, maybe frightening! Here along Lake Michigan, still have snow on the ground, thought on my daily 4 mile walk today I did see some of the Spring birds. There is hope! One of these days I'll be able to garden again in the fresh air. Jack
ReplyDeleteMy photos are watermarked. I'm putting a link at the end of each post just to make sure there is one so people can find where the info came from. It's going fairly well.
ReplyDeleteI did figure out how to watermark my videos and reloaded each of those.
This is a great idea, Tina, but I know me--I'd never keep it up. I'm trying to do better with a garden journal this year, but even scribbling notes every week or so doesn't always get done. So far I've been relying on photos like other people, but I know that is not always accurate. My first crocus opened up two days ago. Last year's photos are from March 23, but were those the first blooms or just the best blooms?? I really should do a better job of writing things down:)
ReplyDeleteNie robiłabym tego z lenistwa, ale szkoda by mi było na to czasu. Pogoda i rośliny zaskakują i wolę prace w ogrodzie i zdjęcia niż tabelki.Pozdrawiam
ReplyDeleteSomeday I'm gonna get myself organized and do this. I think one of the online sites - was it Folia? had something like this on line for people to fill out. I know how to use excell so maybe I'll be knocking on your door for the template ;)
ReplyDeleteI totally just 'adopted' this from you (meaning totally ripped you off including header names). The statistician in me can't help myself. But seriously, I've been thinking about doing it, and your post inspired me to fire up excel right then and there!
ReplyDeleteYou are very organized Tina, i appreciate those who do them. But i really can't do that, can't even organize where i put my personal things, haha!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool Tina! It's fun to see the variations from year to year.
ReplyDelete