Plant markers group order?

[Jennie in MT]

Okay...I'll admit it:  I can be neurotic about keeping track of which plants I have and where they are planted.     I have tried window blind slats (they work fine in the pond but get brittle and break in my harsh climate), metal stakes with garden marking pen (varying success depending on the quality of the stake...my peacocks pulled off half of the nameplates of my most recent ones this winter.  "Oooooh!  Sparkly!   Let's taste that! " ).  So here I am, needing new markers and trying to decide what to do.  After reading a post last year, I decided to try a label printer (brother  2700 which I like very much so far) but I still need something to stick the labels on!  LOL  So I searched the internet (Well? doesn't everyone??)

I found some plant markers that I love and was thinking about placing an order.  They are a bit more expensive than the ones I usually buy, but if they are nicer, then that works for me!  They are certainly prettier.  Would anyone (pr several anyones) be interested in placing a group order?  I like the idea of a discreet black marker rather than the metallic zinc ones I usually get.  I also am planning on using clear label with a white text for the black markers, so the label blends into the plate.  There is a high adhesive laminated label tape that is recommended for outdoor use. If anyone is interested, I would be willing to make labels for your plants also with the printer for the cost of the label material.....

Here is the link to the labels.  http://www.northernexposuregarden.com/markers.htm  They have a nice slide show of the labels in different uses. 

Any thoughts? 

[LeeAnne151]

I like them very much but cannot afford them. I would need several hundred.

[whis4ey]

I like them too
 I made little wood blocks to attach Brother labels to
http://www.americanponders.com/forum/index.php?topic=2590.0

[Mikey]

I can be neurotic about keeping track of which plants I have and where they are planted.

I hear ya.  I'm also a neurotic tracker of plants...  Those markers look nice but they are too pricey for me

I recently hosted a garden tour and I had nearly two hundred of the zinc metal plant markers out to identify the less common plants.  I used a very fine point paint-pen that I got from an art supply store to write on the markers.  The ink (paint) reportedly will last for many years and it comes in various colors.  I then pull up the markers after the tour and store them.  Some of the plants are not easily identifiable by me and for those plants I leave one of those white plastic markers in the ground next to the plant so that I can easily identify it when I need to put out my metal markers.  I don't mark the location of small bubs such as paperwhites and daffodils but I have a general idea as to where they are.  However, sometimes I will see a bare spot and try to plant something there only to find a bulb is already an established occupant.....

To help me keep track of my plants I keep a Word document on my pc that has the botanical name, common name, physical description of the plant and additional notes of interest (e.g., full sun, shade, acidic soil, place of origin, where planted etc.) of all my plants.  As soon as I purchase a new plant I Google the name of the plant and then record the information about the plant in this document.  During the garden tour I kept this document with me in case someone had specific questions about a plant.

[jerryg]

I have all my plants labeled too some 300 of them.  I use the zinc markers with labels made with a brother labeler and outdoor tape.  Looks greats and works great and not to terribly expense.  You can use different colored tapes for different things  ie prennial, bulbs ,non hardies, etc

[Jennie in MT]

I got the a PTouch label maker too Jerry.  Used the zinc markers and the matte silver high adhesive tape.  Hoping it lasts well.  I have to admitI was not fond of the look though.  I decided that I will spray paint some of them black and try the clear tape with white text.  Maybe that will help them fade into the shadows better.

[jerryg]

I use to red with white letter for bulbs and black with white letters for priennials and gold with black for rose .  these colors look good i have found white background tend to bleed throught
also i drive 1/2" pvc into the ground to adjust the heights of the markers.

[Mikey]

Hey Jennie: Did you order those markers?  Would love to see what they look like in your garden.

[Jennie in MT]

I didn't.  I went with the less expensive ones.  I wasn't really thrilled with the zinc look though.  Here is a pic of my new hosta garden.  Of course, the plants will fill in, as they are all new this year, but I don't really care for how obvious and prominent the silver color is.


I am going to spray paint the next batch black and use the clear tape with white letters.  Then see how I like that. 

As an aside, for an explanation of the condition of the plants above, and some very important scientific information, please check out the following link....
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hosta/msg070318388949.html?11