• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Handmade Gifts For Gardeners, Idea No. 1

November 2, 2007 By Carol Michel 7 Comments

When I posted the gardening geek’s guide to gift giving I wrapped it up with a promise to post about hand made gifts for gardeners… tomorrow.

Tomorrow is now today (plus a few days), so here’s the first idea for a hand made gift.

Several years ago, a friend gave me this handmade garden journal. She bought a composition book, added a ribbon around the middle with enough of the “ends” hanging off it to tie it off. Then she embellished the journal with with some paper leaves and flowers with button centers, and presto… a garden journal.

I’ll confess that because I have a ten year garden journal, I haven’t used this one all that much. But when I looked through it tonight, it did yield up a few memories.

One of the memories is this list of “garden ideas to pursue” that I wrote in August of 2003.


I’ll spare you trying to read the handwriting and let you know that I’ve actually taken action on two, maybe four of these ideas…

“Grape vines, add wires between posts”. Hey, I did that the spring after I wrote it. That’s pretty good, huh? I had tons of grapes this year, all growing on those wires I strung between those posts.

“Small flowering tree on east side yard”. Got that done, sort of, last week when I planted a ginkgo tree. It won’t flower and some day it will be a pretty big tree, but it’s in the east side yard. Check and done! (Three years later).

“Better soil mix for pots – didn’t do well this year”. I more or less fixed that by default the next spring by getting the basic materials for my potting soil mix from a different source.

“Mulch, mulch, mulch” I’m also doing this one, by default. Isn’t everyone?

I’m still working on the rest of the list. Some of it I’ll do eventually, some of it I’ll never do, like ‘croquet area’. I have no idea what I was thinking on that one. I should cross that off and write in ‘more hiding places for Easter eggs’, since the annual family egg hunt is in my backyard. That would make a lot more sense. Geez? Croquet?

Anyway, what gardener wouldn’t appreciate a hand made garden journal?

Tomorrow… idea no. 2 for hand made gift for gardeners.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: gardeners

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    November 2, 2007 at 2:36 am

    I really struggle with garden journals. I want so desperately to remember the ideas and things, but I never can *find* the journal to write them in, and then I never remember to look at it later! Sigh. ~A 🙂

    Reply
  2. LostRoses says

    November 2, 2007 at 3:52 am

    I like the idea of garden journals, bird journals, daily journals…I just can’t make myself write in them for more than a week. An inherent flaw, I know. But a cool gift idea!

    Reply
  3. growingagardenindavis says

    November 2, 2007 at 5:22 am

    I used to do a pretty good job with writing in my garden journal…at least listing new plants and when I did certain jobs (although I never recorded lawn mowing info…) but now I spend that time reading (and occasionally posting) blogs. I think it’s good I only planted a few new things this year since I should be able to remember them.

    Reply
  4. Colleen Vanderlinden says

    November 2, 2007 at 12:21 pm

    This is a cute idea—I’d love to get a gift like that! Can’t wait to see the rest of your handmade gift ideas 🙂

    Reply
  5. Lisa at Greenbow says

    November 2, 2007 at 1:23 pm

    Great idea especially since I like to make journals/books. The trouble is that everyone I know doesn’t take time to actually write in a journal.

    I like to look back in my journals and read my “Chore” lists. Ha… They can almost be comical.

    Our croquet area is my next plan of attack. We have all become bored with it I guess because we don’t play anymore. Besides I have planted up most of the rest of the back garden. I need more space to plant in. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Annie in Austin says

    November 2, 2007 at 11:31 pm

    My handwritten journal is totally neglected these days, Carol. I still tape receipts in it once in awhile. And since blogging/typing/mousing has ruined my handwriting… even if I do use a pen and write something in the journal, will I be able to read it?? But those handmade books are sure pretty.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    Reply
  7. Carol Michel says

    November 3, 2007 at 3:08 am

    Angela (cottage magpie)… I know what you mean about finding the journal when you want to write something in it. My current ten year journal is always on the kitchen counter, right where I can find it.

    LostRoses… Turn those ideas into reality. Your grandchildren might some day love to read whatever journals you write.

    Leslie… Even if I just plant a few new things, I usually can’t remember them by the next year!

    Colleen… Thanks, I’m happy you like it. I thought about having a “garden journal contest” to see if other bloggers want to decorate a journal and post it on their blog.

    Lisa at Greenbow… It does take some discipline to keep up any kind of journal. Happy to hear you are keeping some journals! They can indeed be funny to read later.

    Annie in Austin… Everyone’s handwriting is getting worse these days, it seems. Look at my pathetic handwriting on the page I posted. I need to put more in my journal than what I do and try to write more legibly.

    Thanks all for the nice comments,
    Carol at May Dreams Gardens

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT