In the middle of winter when it’s snowy and cold and spring seems a very long time away… I Pinterest garden.
I love Pinterest but not in a “check out what other people pin and re-pin it” way. Not that I never do that, but my time is limited and once I start I really can’t stop. I try to use it simply as a place to keep photos and articles that inspire or inform me. When I see something that I like or can use I pin the image to a board so I can get back to it.
I’ve been organizing my gardening boards into separate, more focused categories. It’s nice to have an idea on my mind and know just where to look to find that photo that I loved or the article that I remember reading. I start to see the garden coming to life again.
Recently I created a board about garden markers.
I know, that may seem a bit crazy, but I spend a good amount of time thinking about garden markers and creative ways to identify plants.
And then there’s the succulents board…
I really feel like I’m in the garden, surrounded by beautiful colors and interesting textures for a few minutes, even on the coldest winter day.
I also have a board dedicated to shade gardens. I don’t even have a shade garden right now but lots of people ask me about them so I’m hoping to fill this board with good references. It will be nice to say “If you look at my Shade Gardens board on Pinterest, you’ll get lots of ideas and information.”
And of course there’s the Front Yards board. Front yards are changing, aren’t they? I’m inspired every time I take a look at these photos to dig up my whole front yard. I’m pretty sure it’s actually happening one square foot at a time, but don’t tell anyone!
I’ve also been collecting ideas for my new herb garden…
I have new space that we opened up in the fall when we cut down a few juniper shrubs. A new herb garden will be planted there soon and this board makes it easier than ever to keep my ideas organized and ready for that day when I sit down with my afternoon coffee to sketch out the plan.
I can’t wait to start digging!
I have other gardening boards too, along with home ideas, recipes, chickens and grilled cheese. I kind of love grilled cheese and chickens.
Pinterest is a perfect way to get out to the garden in the winter. A little Pinterest gardening will help you feel the energy of this year’s garden to be!
Check out my Pinterest boards here on Pinterest and be sure to follow me! I add things all the time and I promise to follow you back.
Stay warm and enjoy everything,
Michele
The Salem Garden 
Ah ! Now I see ! Although I have dabbled a bit with Pinterest I have never quite ‘got’ it and wondered how others used it. Now I see perfectly how it can inspire and inform. Also, you get to do a bit of virtual gardening when the weather is bad !
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I’m so glad you got it! It took me awhile too Jane but once I got it organized I realized just how helpful it could be, beyond the looking at pretty ideas aspect. thanks for stopping by and for commenting!
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Garden markers is something I am continually challenged by. I would REALLY like to have my plants marked but can’t find a marker that lasts from year to year buried under the snow. One MG suggested black permanent markers used for laundry which does last longer than a regular permanent marker but it still doesn’t ‘last.’ The only one I’ve seen up here that works is one that is professionally done and that is outside of my budgetary restraints – too many plants. 🙂 See you on Pinterest.
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I know I’m always looking too Judy. I’m going to try an experiment at Bass River with laminated markers this year. Keep an eye on the Bass River blog that I’ve shared here on The Salem Garden because we’ll probably do a post about them if they work. I don’t think they’ll be winter friendly but I hope we’ll get through the traditional growing season without them fading or getting lost.
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so Judy… I looked around at your Pinterest boards a little while ago and I have to say that you are one of the pinners who can make me spend lots of time browsing and pinning away 🙂
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I think I like the idea of Pinterest gardening better than the real thing.
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When I read your comment this morning I choked on my coffee Lulu! LOL!!
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How very interesting and Ioved Lulu’s comment. I’m not really a Pinterest person. Just joining Facebook two years ago has swallowed up a ton of time so I’m leaving Pinterest alone for the time being. Of course, I need to “save” all manner of garden photos from FB so I copy them to categorized word processing files which works much the same as what you are doing. I’ve even got one for garden markers!
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that’s a good idea for saving facebook photos, because they can’t be pinned from facebook, only if you can click a link to the site of origin. I’ll have to start a facebook garden photos file.
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You can’t email FB photos, either, I discovered.
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no, but you can print them at cvs? go figure…
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I feel the same way about Pinterest. It gives me a chance to capture something that I can look at later, and maybe get some ideas from.
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HI Claire! I know, I enjoy having it as a place to store my ideas and visit them when I need them.
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Drat! This is so smart. Now I am going to have to do some major reorganizing of my Boards.
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I think it will make a big difference in how I use them during the growing season… I’m enjoying the change quite a bit during the planning and dreaming faze that I’m in right now. I’m going to go look for you on Pinterest!
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