Digital gardens

A digital garden is a collection of notes and ideas that grows over time, organized by context rather than chronology.

Gardens vs. streams

Most online content is organized as a stream—a reverse-chronological feed of posts where the newest always comes first. This works well for news but poorly for ideas that develop over time.

A garden is different. Notes are linked by topic and connection rather than date. Old ideas can be updated without being buried. The structure reflects how the ideas actually relate to each other.

Tending your garden

The gardening metaphor is useful. You plant seeds (quick notes), water them (add context), prune them (remove what doesn't work), and occasionally transplant them (reorganize).

Not every seed becomes a tree. Some notes stay as quick captures forever. Others grow into full essays. The point is that the garden accommodates both.

Working in public

Publishing unfinished thoughts feels uncomfortable at first. We're trained to only share polished work. But there's value in showing your process, in letting others see ideas develop.

It also creates accountability. Knowing others might read your notes encourages you to make them clearer.