This may not be prime time for thinking about gardening– at least it isn’t for me! Where I live, it’s getting cold and all the plants I grow in pots are pretty much dying out for the season. But if you’re more ambitious about your gardening than I am, this article points out that it’s good to take notes about a garden year round, to see what plants look good at different times of year and how their colors change:

Designing a successful late-season garden is all about anticipation and planning. A year-round familiarity with plants — understanding how they change in terms of form, texture and color throughout the growing season — is key to creating a harmonious look in gardens throughout the seasons. Of course, we all notice the foliage changing in our autumn gardens. But how many gardeners think to make a note of those changes in a journal; jotting down a memo about the golden color of sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), with a springtime reminder to plant a sky-blue aster or deep-violet clematis (such as Clematis viticella ‘Polish Spirit’) nearby next year? Look carefully at your garden this fall. Do your borders include plants with colorful autumn foliage, late-blooming flowers and tufts of ornamental grass? Could that bright red viburnum use a golden perennial companion, such as shining bluster (Amsonia illustris) at its base? In addition to my notes, I find that it helps to take photographs of the garden in all seasons. Later, I stick those snapshots in my journal with a shopping list and take the whole thing with me on trips to the nursery or garden center.

How exciting! Who cares if I can barely managed to grow a few potted herbs– a garden journal is another excuse to start a new notebook!

Read more at Guest Post: Designing Gardens for Beautiful, Late Season Color | At Home in the Garden – Martha Stewart.