One of our garden club plant stalls, with labelled plants

I fear I had something of a reputation as a dragon at our local garden club when it came to the importance of having labels on plants donated by members to our sales table and stalls. I know I did go on and on about it, but these days, it is a joy to see just about every plant contributed labelled! It certainly makes it so much easier to sell plants when they are accompanied by information about their identity and perhaps some additional points on cultivation.

Nurseries know this, of course, and we expect to get a colourful printed label with our plant, telling us its name and attributes, plus details on the amount of light and water it needs, and when and how to prune and fertilise it. These plastic labels can be tucked into the ground beside the plant when we plant it out, to remind us of the plant name and how to cultivate it, but this can make the garden look rather cluttered and eventually the labels crack and fade.

A page in my garden journal

A page in my garden journal

My method to retain the name and information is to tape the labels (so I can still lift them up and see the writing on the back) into my garden journal, with a note as to where the plant is sited in the garden. This does require having a map of the garden with different areas identified with some sort of name or code. A more sophisticated arrangement might be to have a book divided into sections for each garden area and put the labels in the relevant part, or a computer program with photos of the labels, but I stick to my primitive method. Every so often, I peruse the labels in the book, which helps to remember their names and remind me of their care details. At times, I dolefully have to write 'DEAD' next to the label. However sad this is, it does provide a record of successes and failures, though I do give particularly desirable plants three chances before accepting that my garden and/or climate is unsuitable for it. I also note next to the label if I end up removing the plant because of some horrid characteristic (such as becoming rampageous), so I don't make the same mistake in the future.

If I do want to have a label next to a plant in the garden, I will write the name on a white plastic label with a permanent marker (though some people swear by pencils). I don't really like the look of too many such labels round the garden, so I often push the tag almost right down into the ground, tucked under the plant as much as possible. These labels are important to mark the position of bulbs and herbaceous perennials that die right down when dormant. Otherwise, I might gleefully think there is a bare patch of ground where I can put in a new plant. One potential problem with the use of these labels poked into the ground is that they can be dug up by dogs - or in my case, brush turkeys - and scattered all over the garden. A solution to this is to hang labels in the stems or branches of the plant and this can be useful when you have a number of different cultivars of a particular type of shrub, such as Camellia or roses, which garden visitors often ask you the name of. In the garden of Janet and Lawrie Hayes (profiled last week), I saw some effective labels for the many camellia in the garden, which Lawrie had fashioned from metal then embossed the name on with an old biro. These were suspended in the centre of the shrubs to provide long-lasting, unobtrusive identification.

Labelled cuttings

Labelled cuttings

For propagation purposes, labelling is essential. When sowing seeds, whether in a punnet or in the ground, they simply must be labelled with their name and date of planting (so you can monitor their progress). We always think we will remember what they are - but somehow, we don't. The same rule applies when taking cuttings. A stem with a few green leaves on it, without a tag in the pot - well, it could be anything really, a few weeks later, when you check to see if it has struck. I like to add the name of the person who gave me the cutting (where relevant) to the label, as it is nice to keep a record of where plants came from, and the date too, of when the cutting was taken. When transplanting on a group of cuttings from one container into their own individual pots, each needs to have a label of their name. it is SO tempting not to bother, thinking we will keep all those pots together with the one that has the original label, but somehow doesn't work out. Ask me how I know!

Laminated labels at another of our club plant stalls

Laminated labels at another of our club plant stalls

I generally always use purchased white plastic labels for my propagated plants but there are other options, such as cutting up old yoghurt containers or venetian blinds, or using paddlepop sticks, which are OK for temporary labels, but they do decay fairly quickly, and the writing on them blurs once they get wet. Sometimes for our plant stalls, I will make laminated picture labels, a technique I learned from a friend a few years ago: make a grid of 12 or so labels as a Word document (I include a photo of the flower), then print this out and laminate the sheet on a home laminating machine and then cut the individual labels up and tape a bamboo skewer to the back of it so it can be inserted into the pot.

A metal herb label

A metal herb label

It is possible to buy (or make) decorative ceramic or metal plant labels (or even painted stones!) with the names of herbs inscribed on them, and these can embellish the garden and also help those who don't know which herb is which, if they are entrusted with the task of picking some for dinner! I received some metal ones many years ago from a friend, and I still use them.

Plant sign at Mt Tomah Botanic Garden

Plant sign at Mt Tomah Botanic Garden

In botanic gardens we expect labels, as these places play a big role in educating the public about plant names. The sign pictured at left at the Mt Tomah Botanic Garden helped me identify one of my mystery plants a few years ago. I find it very frustrating when there is no name on an interesting or unusual plant in a botanic garden. I prefer actual information labels to QR codes too!

At the end of the day, plant labels help us share plant knowledge with one another - and they are to be encouraged as much as possible!