Plant Tags

Dr. Gary Bachman:

There will come a time when every gardener will say, "Now, what is that plant?" Today on Southern Garden.

Announcer:

Southern gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Dr. Gary Bachman:

Many gardeners believe they can remember every plant in the garden. I have to admit, I've told myself this before. Plant tags can come to the rescue. Plant tags have form and function. Different tags for different gardeners or different parts of the garden. They can be plain or fancy. Use your imagination and creativity. Most gardeners want to spend the majority of their garden budget on plants, but there are attractive copper and zinc markers. The herb garden is the perfect place for these and is an artistic way to identify the parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. The plant information is etched using a pen or special tool and will not wear off.

My wife has a set of plant tags for her herbs that are embossed metal. These metal tags will last for many years in her herb garden. But the rows of carrots and beans, they only need the seed packet stapled to a wooden stick. Cover the seed packet with a plastic sandwich bag for protection from the weather. You could take the packets and have them laminated and get multiple seasons of use from them. But you don't have to buy plant tags, making your own as the perfect opportunity to recycle. Old Venetian blind slats could provide plant tags for many seasons. You want to be able to read the tag and most markers will bleach out. I like to use a soft lead pencil. Whether you use inexpensive, recycled or fancy tags, so identify plants, the markers are saying, "That's my garden."

I'm horticulturist Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.

Announcer:

Southern gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.