Plant Labels

[Rosefriend]

Since I lost OH I am trying, albeit slowly, to clear the house of anything and everything that isn't needed or wanted...will take forever!!

I needed a box for something and the box that I wanted was/is full of plant labels. I also have a book full of names of plants that are in the garden - a half hearted attempt of getting rid of the labels - didn't really work...I would need a year to write everything down...

I bet half the plants that I still have labels for, are dead and lost...

Now then - do I really need to keep all the labels?? I know that if I throw them all away I will immediately want to know the variety of something but with all you lovely lot and internet, plus Olaf - well surely I would find out sooner or later what I did have?? My memory for names is diabolical - I am sure I only remember my own name because I have had it for so long !! That is one reason for keeping labels of every description...

Trouble is, then I think of Clems or Roses - soooo many similar varieties etc....not sure what to do...

What do the rest of you do??

[Ron]

I use labels Rosefriend, but they do tend to get misplaced eventually, then someone will ask me the name of a plant and I'll have forgotten! So I make a plan showing where everything is and what it is. It would be a big job for you, I suspect, and anyone making regular changes would not find it useful, but it works for me.

[Tig]

I have used labels to not only remind me of the name but also as markers to where something is planted, as I am prone to seeing a space and sticking a plant in any gap, which can be a nightmare when things are dormant!

I have a spreadsheet where I record all my perennials, shrubs, trees, and hardy bulbs. I have a column for type (HP, Shrub, Rose, Climber, Bulb, etc) Species, Plant variety, date purchased, supplier, and a comments column so I can roughly state where it's planted. I often remember where I bought a plant, even if I can't remember the name of it, so I can then search the spreadsheet. It sometimes goes months before I update it with new purchases but I have a little box for receipts waiting to be processed.

[Ladygardener]

Tig, you're so organised.

I write new buys into the back of a book/journal type thingy which I change every couple of years but I keep them all. Unfortunately I too keep labels Rosefriend, you know the coloured bits of card that are on the packaging of Tulips and Dahlias, well I keep them too and like you, I'm sure some of the things are no more. I really must sort them out some rainy day when I get time. As to plants etc... in the garden, yes I use white labels for them, they get hidden (and some disappear altogether somehow, never to be seen again, even in winter) by the foliage, often when I'm on the phone to Jenny and I'm telling her that such and such Dahlia is blooming and I have to bend down and hoke about to see what it's called.

[Jasmine]

I keep a garden journal and when I think a name or label is lost I often read about planting whatever the mystery is when I look back.
You know what I'm like with labels...I'm better than I was though!
I have boxes of labels in the shed Rosefriend, I would be absolutely the wrong person to say get shot of them. They may help you solve a mystery one day!

[Auricula]

I hate to see labels in a garden as I think it detracts from the visual concept and makes it look like a garden centre I throw the commercial ones away as soon as I've planted the plant....seeds I sow or cuttings I take are unlabelled as I rely on my memory..I hate clutter in the garden as well as in the house....but........each to their own