One of my favorite categories to collect as an ephemerist is calendars—wall, desk, pocket, perpetual, or any other kind. A century ago, calendars were often showcases for printers and illustrators to demonstrate their most advanced skills, and calendars today often follow in that tradition.
Since the feared “Mayan apocalypse” has not happened and the world has not ended, it’s safe to plan for 2013! So I thought I’d check out the current crop of calendars appropriate for gardeners and highlight the best. Bonus: Many of them are now available at reduced prices.
PLANNERS
Organic Gardening 2013 Desk Calendar
Our Organic Gardening Desk Calendar is a great tool for planning and keeping track of your 2013 garden. It’s filled with tips from our editors, seasonal recipes, helpful advice, and much more, illustrated with inspirational photographs from Matthew Benson. There’s plenty of room for writing appointments and to-do lists, as well. $21.95 from the Rodale Store
Digest Your Life Eco Planner
The Digest Your Life Eco Planner, designed by PCP, is printed with soy inks on 100 percent recycled paper. It helps you plan week-by-week and organize your contacts. $5 from Poketo
DESK CALENDARS
Desk calendars are great to display in your office, where you most likely keep track of your appointments electronically and need a calendar only as a visual reminder of the date.
Ephemerals Desk Calendar
The Ephemerals Desk Calendar (I love that title!) is hand-printed on an antique letterpress. Each month has a different illustration of a garden insect by Yasuko Nakamura, and the pages are perforated so that they can be used as postcards once the month is over. $20.97 from Kate’s Paperie
Grow-A-Garden Plantable Calendar
The Grow-A-Garden Plantable Seed Calendar is a gift that keeps on giving. Each page is made of seed paper that is embedded with a different herb or vegetable seed: tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, dill, basil, and parsley. Plant the page when the month is over, and see what grows! Tips for growing and using each type of plant are included. $24.95 from Botanical Paperworks
Cavallini Botanica Desk Calendar
Each year, Cavallini Papers designs gorgeous calendars using vintage and archival images, printed on thick laid paper so they’re suitable for framing. Cavallini’s offerings for 2013 include this Botanica desk calendar, which reproduces engravings that first appeared in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine in the late 18th and early 19th century. $12.95 from Two Hands Paperie
Rifle Paper Co. Botanical Desk Calendar
This Botanical Desk Calendar comes with its own powder-coated steel easel and a reusable gift box. Each 6-inch-square monthly calendar card features a different hand-painted illustration by Anna Bond. $48 from Rifle Paper Co.
DECORATIVE WALL CALENDARS
When you don’t need space for writing appointments and reminders, there’s more room for artwork. These illustrated calendars will inspire your gardening creativity year-round.
Language of Flowers wall calendar by The House That Lars Built
The Language of the Flowers Wall Calendar, from The House That Lars Built, tells a hidden story based on a century-old Victorian secret code. Each flower has a special meaning. It’s printed in Denmark on cotton paper. $28 from Terrain
The Year of the Garden Wall Calendar from Earmark
The Year of the Garden Wall Calendar is a poster-sized print that can be used framed or unframed, with illustrations by Earmark. $17.99 from Earmark via Etsy
Claudia Pearson’s Buy Local Calendar
Each 6-by-9-inch page of Claudia Pearson’s Buy Local Calendar features an illustration of seasonal fruits and vegetables available at local markets that month as a reminder to buy local. $24 from claudiagpearson via Etsy
Botanical Wall Calendar from ModernPrintedMatter
The Botanical Wall Calendar features drawings by Anna Cote. It’s professionally digitally printed on heavy recycled matte white cover stock, and is available either wire bound or single hole punched (so you can hang several months side by side). $24 from ModernPrintedMatter via Etsy
Botanica Calendar by Susan Black
The Botanica 2013 Calendar by Canadian artist Susan Black features 12 of her botanical collages. It is unbound, and printed on heavyweight paper so the pages can be framed later. $32 from 29blackstreet via Etsy
The 2013 Garden Calendar from Rifle Paper is printed on natural white paper. It has a different illustration for each month and comes with rustic twine for hanging. $16 from Rifle Paper Co.
The Vilmorin Vegetable Garden Calendar features 12 reproductions of images from Album Vilmorin (Les Plantes Potagères), a collection of botanical illustrations commissioned by the French Seed company Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie between 1850 and 1895. Each page is printed on lavish Italian Acquerello art paper and is perforated so it can be framed later. $24.99 from Taschen
WRITE-ON WALL CALENDARS
These calendars have monthly write-in grids that let you keep track of your appointments and special occasions.
Organic Gardening 2013 Wall Calendar
Our Organic Gardening 2013 Wall Calendar is available free with a 2-year (12-issue) subscription to the magazine. Each month of the calendar features a different inspiring photo. $23.94 (including magazine subscription) from Rodale
Cavallini Wall Calendar - Flora & Fauna
The Cavallini Wall Calendar – Flora & Fauna features ephemera from the Cavallini archives. $21.95 from Two Hands Paperie
Cavallini Wall Calendar - Garden
The Cavallini Wall Calendar – Garden reproduces images from vintage seed catalogs in the Cavallini archives. $21.95 from Two Hands Paperie
2013 Snow & Graham Grid Calendar
The 2013 Snow & Graham Grid Calendar has 9-by-12-inch grid pages that give you plenty of room to write, plus a different floral design for each month. $27.95 from Paper Source
2013 Food Landscapes Calendar by Carl Warner
Look closely at the scenes featured on the 2013 Food Landscapes Calendar, by Carl Warner, and you will see that each “landscape” is composed entirely of food! $13.99 from Calendars.com