Barnegat Garden Club News

Gardeners often think they will remember details about their gardens – your garden seems so up close and personal all summer. A Garden Journal is a great way to keep track of bloom times, landscape designs and even the sporadic mistake.  You don’t have to be a writer to keep a journal, it doesn’t even have to be in book form; you can use a calendar, a shoebox, accordion file, scrapbook, photo album or a computer program. You can record as much, or as little as you want, just make sure it's a fun activity, rather than a chore.

What might you put in your journal?

You should include planting dates for seeds and plants, transplanting dates, sources and cost for plants and seeds, dates they emerge in spring, appearance of blooms, date of harvest for vegetables or cut flowers, any pest or disease problems. You can simply write the dates on a calendar, when and what you used to feed or treat them, amount of rainfall and frost dates.

Make a list of plants you have, including names of specific varieties as you know them. Keep track of what plants did well, which didn’t, where you acquired it (in case you’d like to plant more of the same). Make a note where each is planted and update your journal if you transplant or draw a garden plan using graph paper.

Some other possibilities for your journal include:

Seed packets with pictures and planting information and/or dried blooms (labeled of course!)

Descriptions cut from catalogs if you are keeping a scrapbook or shoebox or from online catalogs if you’re working on a computer.

Photos you have taken to recall which areas you liked or disliked and how to improve them.

Your wish list - plants to try in the future, or landscape ideas like a pergola, water feature or dry riverbed.

Reference materials - articles, magazines, book list and comments, websites you like.

Inspirational thoughts

Recipes for your garden harvest

Lastly, write down your personal observations, which you’ll appreciate in years to come. When the wind, rain,cold and snow make gardening seem like a thing of the past, it’s nice to have a reminder of the beauty of your summer garden. Don’t be afraid to record your reactions to success and failure, to the joys and woes of your gardening year. Wax poetic about your personal interaction with the natural world in your backyard.  

If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need. Cicero

Public Gardens to Visit

Public Garden Locator –National Gardening Association

New Jersey Public Gardens & Garden Walks | Garden Guides

New Jersey Gardens

Adopt-A-Barrel

Barnegat Garden Club’s longest running project is Adopt-A-Barrel.  Each spring the club solicits donations to help defray the expense in planting the barrel planters located in Barnegat’s historic downtown area as well as those at town hall and the recreation center.  Club members prepare the barrels, plant the specially selected annuals and diligently maintain the barrels throughout the summer season.  The club helps to create a festive atmosphere in the down town each winter by decorating the barrel planters for the holidays.   Donations can be made to Adopt-A-Barrel ($10 for a half barrel or $20 for a full barrel) by sending a check to the Barnegat Garden Club, P.O. Box 269, Barnegat, New Jersey 08005.  Donors should include their name and address and if they wish the donation to be made in honor of or in memory of a friend or loved one the club will send out an acknowledgment (donor’s should include the name of the honoree and the name and address where the acknowledgment should be sent).

The Barnegat Garden Club is a not for profit service organization established in 1988.  The club’s mission is to pursue the improvement and beautification of public lands and lands held by other not for profit organizations in the Township of Barnegat.  The club also strives to provide horticultural education opportunities to the community.  The club has undertaken numerous projects, events and programs during it more than 20 year history.

The Barnegat Garden Club welcomes new members. The club meets at 7
p.m. on the first Thursday of each month from March through December at the
Historic Cox House on Route 9 and Bay Avenue.  We would be happy to have you join us. 
For additional information please call 609-698-3788 or email
barnegatgardenclub@yahoo.com.