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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Keeping Up With The Gardening Joneses: 10 Year Gardening Journal

2009_0106image0007 I try not to be a big fat copycat but when it comes to gardening, it's harder for me.

Most gardening stuff I see comes from the Internet via my favorite gardening blogs, or my favorite gardeners on Twitter or Plurk. It's not like a pretty pair of shoes that walk by me and keep on walking. People write beautiful prose about their gardening crap and the way they describe it and the pictures they show me make it virtually impossible for me to pass it up. Plus, they post all the links showing me exactly where I can find the stuff, making buying effortless. It's almost like I develop a crush on their gardening crap. I just can't resist it.

The cool thing about copying off gardeners is that, in my case at least, gardening is not all that mainstream and not that many of my friends are avid gardeners, so I can copy off my Internet peeps and then take credit for the original idea when all my friends are admiring the goods. Dear Gardening Bloggers, sometimes I buy stuff you write about and never even tell you. It's your own fault for seducing me!

2009_0106image0005 My most recent purchase is the Lee Valley 10 Year Gardening Journal. In my defense, I've wanted this for over a year so it wasn't exactly an impulse buy. And, I did use money given to me as a Christmas gift by my mother to purchase it - I'm pretty sure she approves. Still, it's basically all Katie's fault. She went on and on about it on Plurk a while back and I tried to ignore it but when she later said that the company was offering free shipping, that was it. I made the purchase that same day.

I'd read about this gardener's journal before on a few blogs and one of the reasons I did not purchase it back then was that I got the feeling that it's for serious gardeners. (after my second year of gardening, I still have trouble seeing myself as an avid gardener) Also, I was concerned about my dedication to writing in it for the next 10 years. 10 years! I mean I have this blog where I am technically committed to writing about my garden and what do I need with yet another commitment, right? But I specialize in overcommitization!

I'm pretty excited about my new gardener's journal. This thing is huge! I mean, it reminds me of one of those huge ass encyclopedias at my parents house. I was kind of surprised to see that it's got way more than just space to write daily gardening stuff. Check back in a few days for my full review of the Lee Valley 10 Year Gardener's Journal.

12 comments:

  1. I don't know why I don't journal; possibly because I think my weekly columns serve as a type of journal. But having a journal like the one you just got would definitely make it a lot more personal. And as a writer, I still love the feel of the pen gliding across paper.

    And didn't you mean check back in ten years to see your journal review? ;~)

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  2. This may be a horrible cycle, you steal the idea from somone, and then someone (me) steals the idea from you. I never new such a journal exists. Showing my gardening ignorance. Thanks for the heads-up. I'm looking forward to your complete review.

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  3. Hey! No fair! How did you get yours before me? You must live closer to their distribution center... I think Carol from May Dreams Gardens, Robin from Bumblebee, and Dee from Red Dirt Ramblings started it, waxing beautifully about how great it was. And then Leslie from Growing a Garden in Davis got one, and I just had to be like her! I am looking forward to keeping notes in a journal specifically designed for gardeners, because my calendar system has failed me a few times!
    I hope you enjoy your journal Gina, looking forward to the full review...

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  4. It's good and appropriate to steal great ideas for gardening. It's called "inspiration." I hope you enjoy your new journal and get as much out of it as I have from mine. 10 years goes by awfully fast...

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  5. I should have added "et. all" to my comment as most Plurkers have the journal including M.S. at Mr. McGregor's Daughter!

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  6. I wonder how many others ordered them the day we heard about the free shipping? I'm loving mine...it feels like an heirloom and has so much space to record things!

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  7. I got one a couple of months ago - it's gorgeous, isn't it! I haven't quite gotten into the habit of using it every day.

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  8. I got one of those last year, after stealing the idea from Carol at May Dreams. (I don't think I ever told her, come to think of it.) Being a weather geek, I like keeping up with the temperature and weather conditions. It's great at parties--I can say, "Did you know that on this day last year the high was 43 and we got a quarter inch of rain...and it's the day my first hellebore bloom opened, although they are a bit late this year." See why I don't go to parties much?

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  9. It is indeed impressive. You'll love it!

    I am happy with my little journal. So much so that I am wondering if I can have it refilled with pages when I am done. The covers are so pretty.

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  10. I believe you'll love that journal. I started mine this year and it is a daily habit now. Someone suggested we bring our journals to Spring fling this year to share. Great idea, don't you think?

    Robin Wedewer

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  11. Gina, you are hilarious! I think we're all in this together. We're all enablers. And we're all miserably happy. LOL.

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  12. I followed the link.

    Bought the book.

    Couldn't resist.

    All YOUR fault!

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