Plant marker for Green Spice Heuchera, one of my favorites
When we moved into our new home and created a perennial bed, I bought lot of plants that were unfamiliar to me. Reading the information carefully for each the new plant, I tried to follow those directions to make sure they would do well. The original plan was to buy one plant of each new variety that I liked, then if it thrived, I could divide it and create more plants. I have pretty much stayed with that idea and have slowly filled our garden with perennials using that method.
Originally I stuck the plant information tag into the ground next to each new plant so I would remember their names. Unfortunately, a lot of those information tags were blown away or lost. I decided to collect all of the tags I could still find and just keep them in a box to have a record of my new plants and all the new plant names. As the years went by, I added all of the new plant tags to the info box and eventually even organized them a bit.
As every gardener knows, some new plants do really well in your garden and others just don’t. One day I realized that by simply saving all of the tags, I was inadvertently creating an ongoing record of plant purchases. It is amazing now to look through all of those old tags and realize how many plants have marched through our garden only to be culled out for various reasons. Some were bullies and had to be removed, some had very short bloom times which I didn’t like and some plants refused to thrive so eventually I removed them as well. Of course there are also a lot of tags that show plants that have done well and are still in our yard and it is those successes make the whole process worthwhile.
Gardening for me has been mostly trial and error. Many plants that looked good in the garden center and in plant catalogues simply did not like the heavy clay soil in our yard and they disappeared. However other plants loved it and over time those plants have multiplied until I have enough to share with friends and in return, I usually receive some of their extra plants. We usually make a day of it — we tour the gardens of the people who are interested, swap plants and go out for lunch. It’s great way to get new ideas along with a few new plants!
An interesting note: I find that a plant received from a friend always seems to do well. I think it’s because those shared plants were already thriving in our Wisconsin weather and soil or my friend would not have had any extra to share!
Yes, simple and interesting. This is a method that would work for most people.