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Different ways of noting exact positions of your plants in one bed?

FireFire Posts: 19,096
in Problem solving
One of my beds was replanted last year. Many perennials have died back and I have no idea where they might re-emerge. How do people note the position of new planting? Do you use use marker sticks or rely on accurate plans or photos or a mix of all. I have some more plants to put in but I can't really do this until June, when everything that will return has returned and is obvious.   I am closely examining the ground to see what might be poking up. I have an approximate idea of what was where but no exact plotting. Your ideas are welcome for this spring. Thanks

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  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    I leave the growth on all winter, and only tidy up once it's warm.. and usually new shoots are already coming up as I leave it a bit too late most times.  They mark themselves, even if it's only a round of flat leaves.  

    One great idea I saw was to mark with a nice colored or clear glass drop glued onto the head of a fat aluminum nail with jewelers glue.  It's near flush to the ground so you don't really notice it overly much, but it tells you something is there.  It just looks like a decorative glass marble in your boarder.. but don't move as it's pushed into the ground by the nail.  The plant can even grow up around it if you want without issue.  And it also doesn't get pulled out by the birds or weather.. although I suppose a digging critter or person could bury it.   But I liked it wasn't overly noticeable.  

    I couldn’t find the idea on the internet, but these are similar.

    Utah, USA.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Thanks. I think I would need more a selection of totem poles. :D
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    I remember someone, maybe last year, saying they used charity shop ceramic figures to cover cane ends. That could be you.. a (slightly-used) menagerie for your winter pleasure.. with the practical use of also marking your summer plants.  
    Utah, USA.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096

  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    With two small boys, I could use that in my home to protect the spare loo rolls from 'over spray'.  🤢🙄.  Can't use it in the garden when I need it in the home!  
    Utah, USA.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I find that most markers I put in are shifted by the birds, foxes and badgers so I leave a bit of stalk sticking up when I tidy in the Autumn. If there aren't any handy stalks, I hammer in a cane or stick, about 18" long, sticking out of the soil by 6" just behind the plant. This doesn't tell me what it is but at least I know something is there. If you worry about the sharp cane ends, a blob of plasticine will do it though the glass tops are more aesthetic! They wouldn't last five minutes in my garden, though.
  • WoodgreenWoodgreen Posts: 1,273
    edited March 2022
    @Fire Could you use stones? I've done this in the past to label ferns. Try to find stones with a flat surface, big enough to stay put. Decide whether they'll go in front of or behind the plants as you view them.  Paint an abbreviation of the name or a code, on the underside.
    I used a system whereby A was athyrium, D was dryopteris, AS was asplenium and so on. The letter was followed by a number and I kept an index on my pc.
    I used white primer or undercoat successfully, but once used topcoat I think -- when I lifted the stone to check the number the stone was clean and the information was on the soil! Oops!
    Some stones have been in place for twenty years and more but if I lift them up, the white letter and number is still visible. 
    I like this system as there is nothing visible in the borders, just the odd weathered stone.....

  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    Lolly pop sticks.  Cheap to buy in bulk.  You can use a pencil to write the name of the plant on them.  They do disintegrate, but that takes a year or so.  

    I also use mini Post-it Notes on a sheet of paper, to layout new planting plans.  I take a photo on my phone of the final design.  
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I think something like hazel sticks are going to be needed if they are not to disappear.
  • WoodgreenWoodgreen Posts: 1,273
    Photos are good, I sometimes do this when planting special bulbs. Lay them on the surface in their places and take a photo, with something in shot as reference, like a tree trunk or shrub.
    I find anything sticking up out of the ground tends to get knocked over by pheasants or other creatures, even by my size 3's, which are always bigger than I think when stepping through plants.
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