Plant Labels and Maps

Make maps instead.... and then fumble with sheets of paper out in the wind when trying to explain to a garden visitor who asks what that one is.  ;D

(A really good memory, and instant recall, would be ideal, but unfortunately, mine seems to be fading fast!)

Peter wrote:

This situation reminds me of a question I've almost asked about 1000 times, which is 'How do you label trough plants without destroying the trough's aesthetic? So now I've finally asked it. Any suggestions?

For several large Sempervivum planters, I would draw a plan, using pencil rather than pen, to more easily erase and make corrections and updates.  This worked for many years, as I did not want to spoil the effect of the trough planting with ugly labels.  Having the plan available inside, served as a handy reminder and memory reinforcement tool as well.

Lori, it's happening again, we're posting similar things at almost exactly the same moment ;)

I have also seen rock gardens where people have made durable labels... somehow... and pushed them into the soil completely or partially, usually behind the plant, so that they are not obtrusive, but available, in case the plant's name goes suddenly AWOL from memory.  It would be wonderful if anyone who uses this method could comment here and enlighten us further on it!   :)

Skulski wrote:

Make maps instead.... and then fumble with sheets of paper out in the wind when trying to explain to a garden visitor who asks what that one is.   ;D

Hi Lori and Mark,
In these modern times it is quite simple to laminate each of your drawings, plant maps, sown seed lists, etc. for use in damp or windy situations, for preservation of important data or simply to look 'almost' competent in front of your visiting gardening luminaries.  :D

I type out each season's sowings (on the computer) and keep a laminated copy in the greenhouse or seed frame, another in a loose leaf file for reference when potting on and the original in the computers document file.  It then becomes quite easy to give each of that season's sowings an identification number i.e. 10/26 representing the year and the unique number for that packet of seeds and this number becomes the only thing that is necessary on labels, bottom or side of plastic pots, seed trays, etc. and if this is printed with one of those large black indelible markers then, hopefully, it might last more than three and a half days in the open air!?  :D :D :D

Skulski wrote:

I have also seen rock gardens where people have made durable labels... somehow... and pushed them into the soil completely or partially, usually behind the plant, so that they are not obtrusive, but available, in case the plant's name goes suddenly AWOL from memory.  It would be wonderful if anyone who uses this method could comment here and enlighten us further on it!   :)

I have also tried doing a series of 'normal' plastic labels (with a supposedly indelible marker) and then laying them out within a clear laminate pouch (side by side in rows, but allowing a 1/4" to 3/8" gap all round each label) and then carefully putting the whole thing through a laminator - each label can then be cut out as an individual laminated entity and the process repeated for double the effect and double the protection at twice the cost.  The laminates do, of course, still get stained and dirty, but are easily wiped and the lettering doesn't fade as quickly when protected in this way.  The thicker laminate sleeves are more effective for the outer skin.

Another alternative that works quite well on troughs or screes is to paint (with enamel paints) a reference number on the bottom of a small flat pebble or rock that sits next to, behind or in front of the relevant plant. This number will correspond to the details recorded on yet another laminated sheet that can sit in the house until needed.  It is advisable to use identical pebble placements for all your plants thereby aiding location of same.

I must hold my hand up at this juncture and admit to not following much of my own advice for a number of years ... I have many unnamed and unfathomable plants in my own back yard and, more importantly perhaps, in my fading memory.

Interesting ideas.  I often end up with little plant label graveyards so finding ways to eliminate labels in planters and troughs is desirable.  Also need a way to be more flexible, to make any such scheme easier to update.  I took a cue from Ev Whittemore years ago, who always double labels plants, one label always buried to a certain EWNS compass orientation, or the buried label always in front of, or in back of, the plant in question, relative to the normal "approach" from a path.  I don't bury my 2nd label, but do always double-label everything.

These days one can also rely on digital records, such as the overhead shot I made on a recent Semp planter:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=182.msg4157#msg4157

The labels shown in that photo will go away, because I don't really need them now.  I do plan on drawing a plan however, and it'll be drawn using a CAD program so that it can be easily updated and a new map printed out when needed. 

Cliff, I really like the idea of a laminated "cheat sheet" or list of plant IDs.  On something like a semp planter, that'll probably have the same plant inhabitants for years, one could print out a small business-card sized list of 10 or 12 plants, laminate it, then discretely place it under a rock that is part of the planting scene.

I use plastic nursery labels. Write on both sides in pencil or better yet with an enamel paint pen. I trim them to length and lay them close to the plant, then place an appropriate stone over the label to hide it and protect it from UV rays. They get a little dirty but I can wipe them clean enough to read. With the information on both sides I feel more confident that it will not be erased. Some stones have three or four labels under them. 
The down side, is that you may have to pick up several stones before you find the hiding place. I have had a few labels get covered by silt filling in the gap beneath the stone but you can scratch the surface with your finger and find them readily.
My bigest problem with plastic labels is UV exposure.
I am toying with the Idea of buying a metal tape embosser, but the tapes can only hold one line of information. They may get too long to hide easily (I think that I may be able to fold them in half length wise and get by) unless I abbreviate the information. The juries still out on that one.

One good way to use labels is to use copper or aluminum and write hard on a soft serface to make sure it indents well so if the pencil washes off you can see the imprint.

I used to use metal labels (zinc) purchased from the Paw Paw Everlast Label Co, which took pencil very well and lasted for years, the problem being that I sliced open my fingers a few times grubbing around plants with semi-hidden labels.  The zinc one would also oxidize depending on conditions and corrode.  I also used aluminum labels, they last without corrosion problem, but again, can be sharp (and they expensive).  I've seen softer metal labels (copper) at arboretums, and I'm sure they are very good and long lasting, but once again, expensive.  One would also only tend to label things that seemed like they'd be around for a while, versus using a much cheaper if not disposable label.

There are two points worth discussing, the labels and writing media itself, and the original question, about making maps of in some way recording the inhabitants of planters and troughs without littering them with unsightly labels.  This post is to address the actual labels and long life to legibility.

I have found the best and most affordable writing instrument is #2 pencil.  Over the years, I have used vinyl "pot stake" labels that I buy mail order from a company in Texas, USA.  They worked well because they maintain flexibility for their lifetime, never becoming brittle.  They were available in several colors, but the darker color green worked best, as pencil would fade less on the green labels than on the white ones.  They were of a size that could be cut in half, to double the investment mileage; shown are some in their original uncut shape, and others that have been cut in half.  I ran out of the green ones, and started using white ones of the same style.  Since then I ran out of these labels entirely, now using a different type of plastic label... these work except for becoming brittle much more quickly... must place an order to get another bulk shipment of these to last another 20 years... their minimum order is a certain number of thousands of labels.

What's interesting is, I brought in some original labels to remake them with a fresh label.  See two labels shown at the bottom, the dark green one is still legible after 19 YEARS!  The white label below is the replacement.  Pencil on a matte plastic or vinyl label works, easily for a decade or more, never found an ink pen that was as reliable.

I have some lovely labels that I mailed ordered from Wells and Winter (www.wellsandwinter.co.uk).  I got 150 of them and admit I haven't used very many yet because I'm afraid a fancy label may cause immediate demise of the labelee.  I label the front side with a Deco Color writer from Michael's and the back with pencil.  A friend has been using them for several years and says they are quite durable.  You can push them into the soil so only the top sticks up for maximum aesthetics.  I tried the Everlast labels and my rakes caught on the two prongs so I considered them more hassle than they were worth.  I think they only charged me a couple of extra pounds for shipping from Great Britain.  The service was very prompt and cordial.  When I run through this lot I'll probably order more.

Jan

A chapter member here uses four inch metal (zinc?) label stakes that she engraves with an inexpensive engraver.  Lettering can be just as small as a pen. Dirt collects in the engraving, adding a natural "ink" that makes it easier to read.  She's presently working on getting a few thousand for some of us in the Chapter.  I believe they come from a company in New Zealand.

Another cuts up clear plexiglass to the size stake he wants, and then attaches a label made by his Brother brand label maker with UV and weather resistant clear tape.  Very spiffy, and invisible until one gets close up.

I still use cut up window binds.  Since I work at Home Depot, I periodically raid the wasted basket below the blinds cutting machine.  If one can deal with the short 2 or 2.5 inch lengths, there is usually a ready, free supply.  You can get them cut to whatever size you want at any Home Depot (or the like) on their blind cutting machine.  That way you will always have nice rounded corners on the labels.  A pencil or a paint pen works best on blinds, although on metal blinds, the paint pen lasts longer.  Using black blinds and a white paint pen gives a different look.

I used to map my gardens every fall, but have given up.  But, I do try to keep an up to date list of what is in which garden or trough (merely by updating my master spread sheet).

Cool, just look at all those labels, the recycling of waste materials is terrific.  The clear plexiglass ones sounds like an interesting, near invisible approach.  Yesterday I was planting stuff bought as a NARGS seedling sale, must have gone through 50 labels (I double label every plant), so I tend to dismiss label techniques that are too much work.

I have found that the best solution is an electronic labelling system.  I take pictures of complex areas of the rock garden and annotate the images with the plant names.  The annotations can be done in PowerPoint or even more easily with the Preview program that is part of the OS with Apple Macs.  The images are dated which provides useful historical information on plant growth (and losses). This system is especially useful for trough and tufa plantings.  When I am planting I take notes of the plant locations and transfer the names to the images later.

For garden use I print the annotated images on letter size paper and put them in plastic sleeves in a 3-ring binder.  Here are a few samples.

Clever, clever, clever!!!  Very impressed David.

I also take photos as "maps" and write on the plant names, but have not got to the point of annotating them on the computer.   I hope you don't mind me asking you some questions about that, David (or other Mac users)?

Do you also use iPhoto?  How do you open a photo that is in iPhoto using Preview?  (An eye-rollingly dumb question to all the Mac lovers out there, no doubt, but I find many things about Macs completely baffling and incomprehensible.)

I am able to open other photos, that are not in iPhoto, and can see how Preview could be used to do annotations, however.  But what do you have to do to activate the "Preview/Tools/Annotate" function?  All tabs under "Annotate" are currently greyed-out... ??  Edit:  Oops, never mind.  (Evidently, "Annotate" would not function straight from the menu at the top of the page, but had to be moved to the toolbar in order to be activated...  Beats me.

Lori:

To use Preview you first have to export the photos from iPhoto using the File/Export command.  I save the images to a folder called Plant Labels.  To open them in Preview you can use the File/Open command or just double click on them from the Finder.

Once in Preview click on the Annotate button and a tool bar menu comes up.  The fourth item along is a Text Box.  Click on that and then click anywhere in the image and start typing.  The first item in the tool bar menu is an arrow so you can add arrows as well by I don't usually bother.  You can move the text boxes around by clicking and dragging to get them in the best location after you have typed in the plant name.

There is a catch using Preview.  Once you Save the annotated image you cannot change the annotations.  It saves the image as a new jpeg.  You can add more annotations after you save but not delete or move the previous ones.  PowerPoint is more flexible but is otherwise a bit more of a hassle to use than Preview.  You can get PowerPoint for Mac and it interchanges with Windows PowerPoint perfectly.

Ah, yes.  That makes perfect sense - thanks for the explanation.  I do have the "Office for Macs" version of Powerpoint on this iMac, and am familiar with the program from my work PC, so that's what I'll use (given the strange uneditability of Preview files).  
Terrific ideas, David!  Thank you!