Yard Labels


I find them to be distracting.  You don't see things conveniently labeled
in the woods, do you?  I prefer visitors to look at the plants themselves
and their impact in the yard.  I just can't see people coming by with a
little notebook making furious scribbles after seeing what I have.  If I
have a display for the public (like a park, botanical garden, etc) then
labels have their place and that's another thing entirely.  If someone asks
me the name of something, why that just opens up conversation and I can
share much more than I could ever put on a label.  Actually, I keep the
garden label that comes with the plant (or I make one) the first year the
plant is in my yard.  Since they don't do much that first year, I'd find
myself wondering what the thing was and why I bought it in the first place.
After that first year, all labels are chucked.  Then again I don't have
acres to tend.  Perhaps that's what makes it so easy.

And how could I forget what plants I have?  That's like forgetting the
names of your children!  I've raised a some of these plants from seedlings.
As I prune or tend to something, I find myself repeating the names to
myself ("I must divide that Echinacea".  "The seedheads should be snipped
from the Malva").  If I forget a latin name, I just look it up.  Doesn't
everyone have a reference book that's water-stained, dog-eared, and the
pages sticking together right out there with your tools?  But then again, I
read gardening books like novels.  Everything stays fresh in my head this
way.

Val in KY
zone 6a

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