Guide

What Is This Digital Garden?

This is my living collection of interconnected thoughts, ideas, and knowledge that grows organically over time. Unlike traditional blogs or websites with polished, final content, this digital garden showcases my thinking process—from raw seedlings of ideas to fully developed concepts.

Why a Digital Garden?

Digital gardens embrace the natural evolution of knowledge. They:

• Encourage continuous growth: Ideas aren't static; they develop and transform with time
• Show thought development: You can see how concepts evolve from initial sparks to refined insights
• Create meaningful connections: Related ideas link together, forming networks of knowledge
• Support non-linear exploration: Browse by interest rather than chronology
• Allow for public learning: Share my thinking process and welcome inputs from others

How This Garden Works

🌱🌿🌲 Growth Stages

Every note in this garden exists in one of three developmental stages:

• 🌱 Seed: Early ideas, questions, or insights in their raw form. These are starting points, often unrefined and exploratory.

• 🌿 Plant: Notes under active development with emerging connections to other ideas. These have grown beyond initial thoughts but aren't yet fully formed.

• 🌲 Evergreen: Mature, well-developed notes that contain comprehensive insights, clear connections, or polished explanations. These represent more complete thinking.

Garden Structure

My digital garden is organized into three main areas that represent different phases of knowledge work:

01 CONSUME

Where I collect and process new information from external sources:

• Book highlights and notes
• Article summaries
• Podcast takeaways
• Initial observations and questions

02 CURATE

Where ideas are refined and connections are built:

• Thematic collections (Maps of Content)
• Concept development
• Pattern recognition
• Relationship building between ideas

03 CREATE

Where developed ideas transform into shareable outputs:

• Essays and articles
• Project documentation
• Guides and tutorials
• Creative explorations

How Notes Evolve

Notes aren't confined to specific folders forever. They flow through the garden based on their development:

• A highlight from a book might start as a seed in CONSUME
• As I reflect on it, it grows into a plant in CURATE
• Eventually, it may mature into an evergreen essay in CREATE

The stage tags (🌱, 🌿, 🌲) track development across all folders, allowing ideas to move fluidly through the system as they develop.

Exploring This Garden

Feel free to:

• Follow your curiosity rather than a predetermined path
• See connections between seemingly unrelated topics
• Witness the evolution of ideas through their different stages
• Revisit notes as they grow and develop over time

Starting Your Own Garden

Inspired to create your own digital garden? Check out Maggie Appleton's guide on non-technical gardening for practical steps to get started.

Happy exploring!