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The Tucson Gardener |
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Plant Markers that Work And I freely admit I need plant labels on or near some of my garden's plants because every once in a while a visitor to the landscape will ask me to name a plant. Usually I can remember the common name and butcher the scientific name pronunciation. Other times I draw a complete blank and claim, "I'll think of it." But as you get older you have a few more of those I can't remember moments than I care to admit to. (Laugh if you want, but you'll get there some day.) Well I think I came up with a solution for the disappearing plant label whether due to fading or surrounding foliage. I happened to have some left over 1/4-inch thick redwood lattice scraps that I wanted to use for something instead of cutting it up and tossing it in the trash. (If you don't have any scrap lattice you can buy the redwood lattice strips at some of the big box stores. The last time I purchased an 8-foot length of 1/4-inch lattice it cost 88 cents not including the sales tax.) As it so happened, I'd recently purchased an inexpensive combination wood burning/soldering iron. Which meant the tool had different tips that could be attached depending on what you planned to do with the tool. I'd actually purchased the tool to try wood burning designs on some birdhouse gourds I grew a couple of years ago. I haven't got around to that project yet.
I cut several 16-inch lengths of lattice, rounded one end and put a point on the other for each strip of wood. Then I used a pencil and "printed" the name of a plant on some of the strips of wood. Next I sat down and traced, as best I could, with the wood burning tip. Before long I had some big plant stakes. I made the wood strips long because I know once they are stuck in the soil they will eventually rot below the soil's surface. With the extra length I can shove the stake further into the soil if it does rot and that way the stake will last a bit longer. New garden plantings that I decide to label will get the plant's name along with the date the plant goes into the soil. If I get lazy, I'll use a pencil or pen to write on the wooden label. It's more apt to fade with time but making an attempt to label some of the plants is better than not labeling at all.
For some of the trees and shrubs in my garden I cut several six-inch lengths of the wood slats, rounded the corners, and drilled a small hole in one end of each piece of wood. I then cut eight-inch lengths of malleable wire and slipped a piece through each of the holes so I could gently wire the label to a branch or stem. The six-inch labels should be large enough that they won't get lost in the foliage as the plant grows. Again, I plan on wood burning the names of the plants I plan on labeling but if I don't have the time or inclination to go to that trouble I can always use a traditional writing instrument to mark the labels. I'll still purchase small plastic labels when I need them for labeling my seed flats but in the garden, I'll make my own. (2006) |
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