I have a spreadsheet of all my 350 different perennials and shrubs (yes, I am an addict), but this yours is much more helpful. Thank you for sharing.

I was not expecting people to get REAL excited or anything but thought that maybe a light would blink on with the idea. It ain't rocket science but . . . . . .

I don't keep a spreadsheet for flowering of perennials, but I do have a very detailed spreadsheet (and have shared the file) of the seeds I sow each year - using all sowing methods, such as sowing inside, winter-sowing, spring-sowing, or direct sowing. I also record the germination tests that I perform on various seeds on that chart. It's pretty detailed, with dates the seeds were sowed, when they sprouted, when they were planted out, etc.

So yes I understand the need to record details too! I enjoy comparing germination results from year to year. Your chart would show very well how much earlier things are flowering this year than an average year.

That is a pretty cool spreadsheet, but I have to be careful with things like this. I love tracking data and can get a bit obsessive, so luckily I recognize my "problem" and just say "no" when I realize things could easily get out of control again.

Like terrene, I have years worth of seed-starting data. It actually has come in very handy, so I can easily justify those records. I also have maps of every garden bed and what's growing where. Again, that was totally worth the effort and I don't mind the constant need to update.

Flowering times? I don't need to track that I guess. I like the surprises each season and my memory has served me pretty well so far, but if you like the idea of doing it - go for it.

Kevin

Grinder, I really like this idea. I take a lot of photos partly to help me remember bloom time, but I'm going to try this.

Thanks for sharing. That will be helpful. This is the first year that I have tried to track when certain plants and trees will be in bloom but I just wrote it down on a sheet of paper, which I'm sure by now is lost. I'll try this.

I keep a speadsheet that is very much like yours. I enjoy tracking the times that things bloom also - very useful for planning combinations, and also for revealing who's really performing and who's not. :) It's also helpful to me to record the cultivar names, as I don't always remember them.

This year, I added a place for notes to my spreadsheet. "Buds dropped after one bloom." "Foilage looks like hell in August." LOL etc.

Terrific. Now, this is a definite possibility for a project for my DH who is retiring as of tomorrow! He is much better at spreadsheets than I am and I would love to have something like this! Thanks for sharing.

Connie, also like the idea of a place for notes.."dogs dug up twice...dogs ate...dogs trampled mid-bloom..." teehee.

LOL! "Dogs peed on it until it died..." "Dogs decapitated plant while chasing each other through yard..." :p

dogs in elk...
(an old, old gardenweb joke. Funniest story you'll ever read here. Quick someone post the link!!)

Nice spreadsheet. Unfortunately, I have to stop looking at this or else I'll spell check the entire thing lol.

But, just for the sake of perfection, here are a few errors that need to be corrected:

Garden plox-Garden phlox
Nepata-Nepeta
Coreopsus-Coreopsis
Heuchara-Heuchera
Manarda-Monarda

Okay, I'll stop now lol.

While I can see that a spread sheet makes the info easy and quick to read, it is way to organized for me to be interested in trying to do. Just personality type I guess.

I am keeping a simple diary this year. I tend to work in the garden for 2-3 hours after my morning coffee. When I come in for breakfast I record the days observations, the weather and tasks completed. Also I am recording for the first time how much money I spend (yikes!)

It makes it easy to check on "when did I last fertilize the Dahlias?" etc. Maybe this winter when I am pining away for spring, I'll turn the data into spread sheets.

I definitely need to make garden maps. This year there were a number of plants that I couldn't remember where they were, or even that they existed!

Ida - that story was *hilarious*. I printed it off years ago and having it lying around somewhere, but I don't have the link.

Cool idea! I'm going to do this next year. I did write down this year when some of my later perennials came out of dormancy. I always get worried, so I thought if I had it written down, I wouldn't worry that they weren't going to show.

This spreadsheet will help fill in some of the blooming "blanks."

Deanna

Very nice spreadsheet Grinder! Being a newbie gardener, I have no clue what blooms when or for how long. I didn't pay much attention the past few years since I bought the house and planted 'the stuff.' Until this summer, that's what it was, stuff... ok, maybe I thought it was pretty as I looked around the yard but it was still 'stuff.' lol

This year, I've been able to place a name to all the existing flowers & shrubs (not exact varieties, YET!) and added several more perennials and continue to do so.

This would be perfect... I'm such an 'excel' person. :-)

Dogs in Elk was absolutely the FUNNIEST thing I've ever read. I laughed so hard I literally started falling out of my chair, and my husband came running upstairs to see what in the world could possibly be so hilarious. I love that story!