Photo archives are interesting, and informative in ways that you might not think about. Those masses of shots that are stored on your hard drive have valuable information hiding in them. Especially if you are a gardener, lurking in ever blurry, or beautiful shot, is a date, and a record of what size that plant was last year, or the year before, or the years before that. A visual recording of when it bloomed, when it turned color with the changing season, and when it popped out green shoots in spring. Of course this can only happen if you actually take the photos of your garden, and store them in your archives. Plants that didn't make it through the winter will jog your memory next summer when you glance at the previous years photos, and realize that there truly is a blank spot at that end of the garden. Wondering if your pyracantha's brilliant orange berries were more prolific last year? Or did the birds already eat them this year? Check the archives. When did the daffs first come up last spring? Check the archives. What color was the hanging basket at the front door, two years ago? Blue, purple, pink? Make it a habit to record your garden as the seasons change, you might be very glad that you took a few minutes to record the beautiful blossoms in the dead of winter. So grab the camera, and make today, one for next year.