Getting Organized

 

It may be the "end of the garden season", but it's not time to stop gardening!  As watering and weeding needs decrease, you may have time to catch up on a few other things...like labeling your plants.  This spring after adding some more perennials to my garden, I was determined to label all my new perennials from last year and this year.

I didn't have time to look online so found what was available at a local store.  I marked a number of them, but didn't get the job done.  I used a permanent marker and just accepted that I was going to have little white markers.  It wasn't awful. It wasn't what I wanted as labels though.  This one is one of the few that you can still almost read.  The others all faded!  Or broke. I didn't see that coming.  I thought the "permanent" would last.  I didn't realize that it would fade in the sun.

This is my other solution to labeling.  I just stick the plant label that comes with a plant into the ground next to it.  These often break, fade, or get pulled up over the course of weeding etc.  So they end up laying by my plants.  Not awful, but I am hoping to make it a little better.  :) 

I found the Paw Paw Everlast Label Company and they sent me some of their hairpin zinc labels to try.

This was the look, longevity, and ease of use I was after.

I'm not going to say that I don't get enticed by hammered and embossed plant labels.  But that, my friends, is not going to happen in my world.  I got over quickly that my handwriting isn't botanical garden worthy. 

The labels are for my own use.  I really want to remember each plant I have.  I can always keep the tags elsewhere, but it's good for my memory to have the information where I need it.

You can also write on the back so I decided to put the year planted on the back of my tags.  I added so many new perennials last year (the year all the gardens grew!) so I am catching up on labeling those too.  Mostly, I have added native plants that I can buy for a very reasonable price. 

Since I got the greenhouse/shed this past winter, I am planting so much more from seed and will need to label those too. 

A black marking pencil came with the labels and it will hold up in the sun for years.

I use white flags like this in my vegetable garden and the cutting garden to label rows.  I also have grabbed one when I get a plant from a fellow gardener. 

Over time, I can replace the flags with non intrusive labels.

Then the only white flags in my garden will be white flowers!  This is a moon flower that I finally got going this year after being gifted some volunteers from a fellow gardener.

I still have to dig around under this Morning Glory to mark a Wisteria vine that I was gifted from my sister in law last year.  I know it's still there and alive, but could easily forget and weed it come next spring.

You can see my little marker if you look close under here.  I have a fall blooming clematis that I planted this summer.  It is growing, and yes, I know it's getting too much shade from those annuals! I just couldn't pull the annual vines.  Next year I will make sure the clematis gets full sun.

I'm not marking the plants I'm completely familiar with, but new ones, new varieties, or ones that die back and I may lose sight of.

Side note: Hyssop smells soooooo good!

These tree labels would be neat.

I also really like this style of label.

If you like the copper look, they have that option.  (They are sharp looking!)

You can also find them on Facebook as Everlastlabel.