I saw something on the FLOWERS subreddit that I wanted to share.


I appreciate the care and time so obviously put into trying to plan and manage a garden.

Somewhat aspirational for me. I have an excel spreadsheet I use to record bloom time, so I can better plan and consider layout changes. But it's not as nice as this is.

https://www.reddit.com/r/flowe...

I use excel and track blooms daily. I fill the cells with the colour of the flower rather than a set colour for the month.

Robin, I thinks that's a better idea.

Genius idea, Robin. I have been wanting to do something like this for years now but never could quite grasp what I should do.

Robin,

I think it's a good idea.

Totally_Amazing said:I use excel and track blooms daily. I fill the cells with the colour of the flower rather than a set colour for the month.

Yours is a really good way to do this as well. Streamlined. And at a glance you have all you need.

This is my first tracking tool.
Mine is ... not great. It's week by week, with blooming vs anticipated bloom time.

I think my first attempt was about as clunky and time consuming as it could be.

I think you guys have too much time on your hands.. Perhaps you could come help me weed? Seriously, i wish I could be that organized, but I'm just too scattered. I use my photo record when I want to check bloom time. I take pictures sometimes 2, 3 times a day during bloom season.. so I've got lots of data... I did go through this year and identified all the late bloomers so that I could put them all in their own bed. That's about as good as it gets here at Casa Scatterbrain.

Sherry, if I drove more right now I would do a long weekend your way, but I don't drive far on my off time since leaving dominos.

Henhouse said:I think you guys have too much time on your hands.. Perhaps you could come help me weed? Seriously, i wish I could be that organized, but I'm just too scattered. I use my photo record when I want to check bloom time. I take pictures sometimes 2, 3 times a day during bloom season.. so I've got lots of data... I did go through this year and identified all the late bloomers so that I could put them all in their own bed. That's about as good as it gets here at Casa Scatterbrain.

It's not to get fancy. It's more like, if I don't make it a point to celebrate them, I will miss out.

I forget what I have and where, so there's that too. But I need to set my expectations.
If I guestimate full bloom will come in the middle of the week, I may need to take a day off work to truly enjoy them. I have a really long commute to and fro, and I'm gone early and not back until after 6-- but then the kid needs fed, cleaned, and stories etc.

There's not enough daylight, even in summer. Or just not enough hours in the day, regardless of the season.

I feel ya wheezy.there never seems to be enough time in the day.

Henhouse said: That's about as good as it gets here at Casa Scatterbrain.

I recorded bloom times for a few years several years ago in order to combine plants with similar bloom times. Now I make a few notes but don't keep close track. Too much else to do! I try to take pictures throughout the summer, though.

lauriemorningglory said:I recorded bloom times for a few years several years ago in order to combine plants with similar bloom times. Now I make a few notes but don't keep close track. Too much else to do! I try to take pictures throughout the summer, though.

I get that. Especially as you grow to now what to expect from your irises, I bet, you might know when they will bloom even if you divide and move them. I'm very new to most types of irises in my yard now. I added new ones last year and the year before. So, as they settle in to my yard, I hope to get an idea of what my expectations should be as well.

I do weed and divide in the summer, of course, but it's tough, as I get "Wheezy." The summer plants here have to be ironclad, because they sink or swim without me. For me, the spring show is basically the main show.

My garden goal over all would be to have a couple of acres of irises and an acre or fruit trees like apples and cherries. Then a good herb garden growing Thai basil, basil, thyme, and lemon grass (Thai basil and lemon grass for a green curry I like to do).

Richard ~ That is an ambitious goal. You must be young!

Interesting thread. I keep good records of all my plants and weeds (currently at +1600). But, I never actually tracked bloom duration. I tried for a while, but... Now I am trying to accurately track first blooms using the ISO standard week. Also, when I take photos, I add the current ISO week to the meta data of the photo.

Evelyn, yes it's abitous. I'm 48 in January but have health issues such as a bad back, been in and out of heart failure and kidney failure. I still work upwards of 50 hours a week even with all that.

Richard ~ I hope your job pays well enough that you can afford help when the time comes. That will help you tremendously. Good luck!

It is quite challenging to maintain gardens and property and work full time as well.

Evelyn,. I would mostly need help making the beds themselves for things like the irises. Then of coarse the occasional hauling away of something or for certain garden waste.