What is a digital garden? Where did it start? How will a digital garden help you? These are all questions I attempt to answer. Hopefully by the end of it, youāll ditch your blog and opt for a digital garden.
Progress Note
This note and any note in my digital garden is āin progressā. This is how a digital garden works.
Please check back regularly, or ask me on Twitter for clarification on anything Iāve written.
Gardening, not blogging
Digital gardening is a creative approach to content creation and organization that emphasizes the evolving nature of ideas, rather than presenting them as polished final products.
Inspired by the metaphor of a garden, this concept encourages personal, ongoing development of thoughts and ideas, nurtured over time like plants in a garden.
By focusing on curation and organic connections between content pieces, digital gardens break away from the traditional chronological structure of blogs and embrace a more exploratory and dynamic experience for both the creator and the audience.
The history of digital gardening
The first time I heard of digital gardening was from a post by Joel Hooks, My blog is a digital garden, not a blog.
Not long after, Maggie Appletonās post, A Brief History & Ethos of the Digital Garden, popped up on my radar.
Maggie does an EXCELLENT job going through the the history of what a digital garden is.
Iāll summarize this section a bit better in future. For now, youāll have to do it the old school way and click those links š.
The freedom of a garden
In a garden, you have the freedom to experiment, explore, and let your creativity run wild. Itās not about perfection; itās about cultivating a space that nurtures growth and evolution. A digital garden embraces this same philosophy, allowing you to express your thoughts and ideas without the pressure of having everything polished or finished.
Your digital garden is a flexible, adaptable space that reflects your unique interests and intellectual journey. As you learn and grow, so does your garden, and thereās no need for rigid structures or predetermined outcomes. This organic, fluid approach to content creation encourages continuous learning and reflection, making your garden a true reflection of your evolving thoughts and passions.
In this liberating environment, perfectionism is replaced with curiosity, and the fear of failure is transformed into a willingness to experiment and learn. By cultivating your digital garden, you are not only expanding your own horizons but also inviting others to engage with your ideas, fostering a sense of community and shared exploration.
Embrace the freedom of a garden and discover the joy of nurturing your own unique, ever-evolving digital landscape.
Future iterations
Iām not completely happy with my summarisation of digital gardening. Any feedback or questions you have will help me, so please get in contact.
Iāll go into more detail on:
- How to start your own digital garden
- How build in public and digital gardening are sides of the same coin
- How digital gardening is necessary for an effective second brain
- How to feed your Obsidian notes into your digital garden for tending to your garden