Usage Terms

Last updated: February 2026

Gardening Journal is currently in beta. These terms apply to all beta testers and will continue to apply once the service is generally available. Some sections may reference features that are not yet implemented, such as license selection and watermarking.

The short version: This site exists to help you and others become better gardeners. Upload garden-related photos, be a good community member, and you will be fine.

1. Purpose of the Service

Gardening Journal is a photo journal for gardeners. The intent of every photo you upload should be to document your gardening—helping you track your progress and helping others in your hardiness zone learn from your experience. This includes photos of plants, garden beds, harvests, pests, diseases, weather damage, soil, compost, tools in use, garden structures, and anything else related to the practice of gardening.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use Gardening Journal. If you are under 18, you must have permission from a parent or legal guardian. By using the service, you represent that you meet these requirements.

3. What You Agree To

By using Gardening Journal, you agree to:

Upload only photos that are related to gardening
Upload photos with the intent of documenting your gardening journey and contributing to the gardening community
Not upload content that is offensive, harmful, or unrelated to gardening
Not use the service to store non-gardening photos as a general-purpose photo hosting service
Upload only photos that you own or have the right to use

4. What are Gardening Photos

Gardening touches many parts of life, and not every photo will be strictly a close-up of a plant. A photo of your family enjoying a meal made from your harvest, your dog digging in the garden bed, or a sunset over your plot are all part of the gardening story. When it is unclear whether a photo fits, the site operator is the final decision maker.

A backyard garden with raised beds and various plants — Backyard Garden © 2022 by Mark Bucciarelli is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

5. Copyright and Your Photos

5.1 Ownership

Your images are protected by copyright law from the moment you take the photograph, granting you exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and display your work. Unauthorized use of images, even if found online, is illegal.

5.2 License to Gardening Journal

When you upload a photo you took to Gardening Journal, you retain full ownership of your work. By uploading your photo, you grant Gardening Journal a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, store, reproduce, modify (for formatting and display purposes such as generating thumbnails, resizing, and caching on content delivery networks), and display your photos to other users of this service. This license exists solely to operate the service as described in these terms. This license terminates when you delete the photo or your account.

5.3 Default Creative Commons License

By default, all photos on this site are licensed with the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, which allows others to use your photo as long as they give you credit, don’t use it for commercial purposes, and do not modify your photo. See the linked page for the full license terms.

5.4 Custom Licensing

If you prefer to license your photos with different terms, you can change this to a license of your choice on your account page. You can also choose to automatically add a watermark to your photos.

5.5 Using Others’ Photos

Photos uploaded by other gardeners are governed by their selected license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 by default). You must comply with the applicable license terms before using any photo. When in doubt, contact the photo owner for permission.

6. Payment and Billing

6.1 Lifetime Membership

Gardening Journal requires a one-time lifetime membership fee. Current pricing is available on the pricing page. This fee grants permanent access to the service.

6.2 Usage Fees

In addition to the lifetime membership, usage fees are charged based on your actual cloud resource consumption (photo uploads and viewing). Usage fees are billed annually on January 15th. We will email you a copy of your invoice at least two weeks before the charge is processed.

6.3 Auto-Charge Authorization

By purchasing your lifetime membership, you authorize Gardening Journal to automatically charge the payment method on file for any usage fees incurred. This includes the annual invoice on January 15th as well as any mid-year charges described below.

6.4 Mid-Year Charges

If your accumulated usage fees exceed $5 before the end of the billing year, we will automatically charge your payment method on the 15th of the month following the date the charges exceeded $5. We will email you a copy of this invoice at least two weeks before the charge is processed. The amount charged will be deducted from your next annual invoice.

6.5 Non-Payment

If a charge fails and usage fees are not paid within 7 days of the billing date, we reserve the right to suspend your editing rights until your account is brought current. Your existing data will not be deleted due to non-payment.

6.6 Refunds

Your lifetime membership is refundable within 30 days of purchase, minus any usage costs incurred. Refunds are issued at the sole discretion of the site operator. Contact us at support@gardening-journal.com to request a refund.

7. Copyright Infringement (DMCA)

If you believe that content on Gardening Journal infringes your copyright, please send a written notice to our designated agent at the address below with the following information:

A description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed
A description of where the infringing material is located on the site
Your contact information (name, address, phone number, and email)
A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner’s behalf
Your physical or electronic signature

Send DMCA notices to: dmca@gardening-journal.com

8. Privacy and Data Deletion

8.1 Your Data

For information about how we collect and use your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

8.2 Account Deletion

You may request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time by contacting us at support@gardening-journal.com. Upon receiving your request, we will delete your account and all associated photos within 30 days. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

Gardening Journal is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that any content will be accurate or reliable.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Gardening Journal and its operator shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, data, use, or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with your use of the service. Our total liability for any claim arising from your use of the service is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Gardening Journal and its operator from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with your use of the service, your violation of these terms, or your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property rights.

12. Enforcement

The site operator reserves the right to:

Remove any photo that does not meet these terms
Suspend or terminate accounts that repeatedly or egregiously violate these terms

These decisions are made at the sole discretion of the site operator. If your content is removed or your account is suspended, you may contact us to discuss the decision.

13. Beta Period

During the beta, the service is provided as-is. Features may change, and there may be periods of downtime. We will do our best to keep your data safe, but we recommend keeping copies of your original photos.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and notify you by email at the address associated with your account. Your continued use of the service after the updated terms take effect constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree with the updated terms, you should stop using the service and request account deletion.

15. Governing Law

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of the service shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Massachusetts.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions about these terms, please contact us at support@gardening-journal.com.