Picture perfect

Now is a good time to get outside and take some photos of your garden. No, it may not be at the peak of perfection at the moment, but that's just the point. Photos taken at this time of year will capture those problem areas before they get lost in the fog of elapsed time and poor memory.

It's also great fun to settle into an overstuffed chair on a January day, plant catalogs and photos in hand, and plan ways to fill in those gaps come spring.

And, in a few years, you'll be amazed at just how much your garden has changed over time. Sometimes, as I look back over some of my own pictures, I can't believe how handsome my garden really was. And I'm even more amazed that I didn't recognize it at the time. (Too busy focusing on the 'holes,' I guess.)

Digital cameras are great for doing this. You don't have to have the best one on the market, so prices are pretty reasonable. I just start at one end of the garden and keep clicking in sequence until I get to the other end. Then I print out the photos on 8 by 10 inch paper so I can write notes all over them.

I don't always stick to the plan I make, of course. Sometimes the plants I choose aren't available or I'll see something that steals my heart once I get to the nursery, but having the photos still allows me to find a spot for new additions without wandering all over the garden -- pots in hand.