Free For All Friday No 671 by Laurie

I've never been a gardener, but a couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to beautify my scruffy front yard. My son is into botany, so I harnessed that plant enthusiasm, and he and I were on a mission. We bought planters, a dozen different kinds of bulbs that will flower throughout the year, several different types of soil, mulch, a rose bush, and two butterfly bushes. We set to work with our shiny new hand trowels. 

Very quickly I realized I needed to be organized somehow. I needed to draw a map of where each type of bulb was planted so I would know where each type was planted, when they would bloom, and how to care for each. I also wanted to keep the info cards that came with each type of bulb so I could refer to them often for care instructions. The care instruction cards were approximately A5 in size. The rose and butterfly bushes had care cards that were smaller.

I realized I already owned the perfect thing to keep all of this information together and easily accessible. I use A5 size Filofax Clipbooks as storage binders to archive my pages. I have a couple that I hadn't used yet. They are the plastic "gummy" material that I think have been discontinued. The wipe-clean plastic is perfect for use in the garden. I don't have to worry about getting it dirty. I drew my planting map on a grid page that came with the binder. I hole-punched the A5 care cards and put them straight on the rings, in chronological order of when each bulb type will bloom. The smaller care cards I put into a clear plastic zip pouch that fits onto the rings, for easy access. 

I'm feeling very optimistic, and happy that I have combined my new gardening hobby with my long-term Filofax avocation.

Do you use a Filofax for your hobbies? 

And as always on Fridays, feel free to ask and/ or discuss anything ring binder organiser related!