Garden Journal May 2025

Welcome to my low-effort garden log.

May 18, 2025

Welcome to my Garden Journal! This summer (and maybe fall), I’ll send out monthly garden updates for readers who love flowers just as much as they love books. Today’s entry includes my dreams for the 2025 gardening season, pages from my journal, and the “before” photos.

I plan to keep this series free for all readers because we need more whimsy in our inboxes these days, but I am excited to announce that I’m bringing back paid subscriptions! The majority of my newsletter content will remain free, but paid subscribers will receive a special monthly series called Eclectic Recs, in which I recommend three (or five) books from a variety of genres from my recent reads and backlist favorites. (You’ll get a preview of Eclectic Recs this week!)

In July and August, paid subscribers will also have the opportunity to join me in two short summer readalongs (more to come).

I know how precarious spending feels for so many right now, so annual subscriptions are on sale for 30% off. That’s just $35 for a full year of Eclectic Recs and future projects for paid subscribers.

Paid subscriptions will help me keep most of my newsletters free, and let’s be honest—help me pay for groceries for two growing boys! If you have any questions about paid subscriptions, please let me know at eclecticreadernews@gmail.com.

Garden Journal May 2025

When we purchased our house back in January, we fell in love with a barren, brown, and stick-filled yard. It was all potential—especially the four raised garden beds with trellised arches. I can’t say for sure, but I think the previous owners just put the garden beds in last year, because they seem brand new, and after some pulling and tilling, we barely had to fill them in with fresh soil.

For a frugal gardener on a budget, this was huge. There’s a perception that growing your own veggies saves money—and that’s true to a degree—but getting started is expensive! Raised garden beds, soil, seeds or full plants, and tools will run a costly garden center bill. I tracked my spending:

Two bags garden soil: about $24
Three bags potting soil: about $27
Johnny’s Seeds order: $80
Seed starter tray, grow light, labels: $36
Kids’ garden gloves and tools: $20
Other assorted seeds: $20
Four tomato cages from Aldi: $12

That comes to nearly $220. If I would have purchased the beds and soil, I easily could have spent closer to $2,000. I might make some of this back if I’m able to sell some zinnia bouquets, and if I’m lucky with our veggies, it will ease our summer grocery bill, but I’m happy with what I spent this year.

Four raised garden beds with trellised arches. Raspberry bushes line the fence.

The Plan

I’m keeping it simple. I’m excited to grow my own food, but I’m not planning to can anything aside from a few pickles, and I like visiting the farmer’s market on weekends for most of our summer produce. If we get to enjoy a few fresh veggies and share the extras, I will be thrilled. If I get to create pretty bouquets for myself and my friends, I will be over the moon! If nothing grows well over the next few weeks, I will pivot to just growing pumpkins and flowers instead. Here’s what I planted:

Kale
Carrots
Cucumbers
Tomatoes (Theo’s favorite!)
Zucchini
Zinnias
Pumpkins

In early May, I started my seeds in a 72-cell container. Half of the cells contained veggies, and half were zinnias. The seeds sprouted faster than I expected! They were so happy in the house, I’d planned to keep them inside until Memorial Day weekend, but I needed to transplant them before they became root bound in the little cells. This was my first year starting seedlings inside instead of just direct sowing, and I would do it again next year. It’s a great way to save money on garden plants, plus now I have a grow light to use.

On May 11th, we prepared the garden beds and on May 12th we planted the sprouts. I sowed the rest of my zinnia seeds as well. It was a beautiful Mother’s Day weekend for planting, and I will treasure the pictures of my little ones enjoying the garden forever (even though it was actually really hard to juggle a fussy baby and eager three-year-old with all of the hands-on work).

Of the four beds, two are full of zinnias. I’m hoping for a bounty of flowers all summer long, and zinnias make for excellent pollination partners in a vegetable garden. I planted cucumbers and tomatoes near the arches, and I will attempt to train those plants to climb. In a perfect world, the arches will look like a magical fairy garden portal, with cherry tomatoes and mini cucumbers hanging down to pluck. In reality, I will be happy if the plants grow well—and I have a cucumber and tomato plant in containers as back-up.

The boys watch my husband fill garden beds on a picnic blanket near the rhubarb patch and berry bushes.

Theo helps plant zinnia sprouts (after dumping a whole packet of carrot seeds into the bed. Oops)

Now, we water our sprouts every day, sometimes twice a day, unless it rains. I have turned into the millennial cliche—a mom who walks outside with a beverage in hand to admire her garden and pluck a few weeds while the birds chirp. Sometimes I wander out to do the watering by myself while Curtis bathes the boys in the evening. Sometimes Theo joins me with his little watering can, and we chat about the garden or pretend to be Robin Hood in the forest.

Our water spout is across the yard from the garden, and our hose doesn’t reach all the way. It seems like an inconvenience, but I like the extra step of filling my watering can and walking back and forth to the beds. It’s like carrying kettle bells back and forth for a mini workout, but mostly it’s meditative and helps me slow down.

Theo helps me carry water to the garden.

The Journal

As my creative outlet this summer, I’m writing and sketching about my garden in my bullet journal, as well as here on Substack. Some entries will be prettier and more precise than others, depending on how much time I have to spend. I’m prioritizing function over form, though, and trying to let go of perfectionism. I wanted to include a map of my garden, so I quickly drew it out in a ten minute window while making dinner. It’s messy, but it will help me keep track of each bed and remind me of my first garden for years to come.