I use mini-blind pieces too. Note that there is a permanent marker made for signs that is better than Sharpies but best is still a paint pen. But, by far the best method of keeping track is making a MAP! Take some plain ol' paper, mark it showing North, or a reference like the corner of the porch. Draw a few lines to denote the edges of the flower bed sections with circles or x's for plant placement. It doesn't have to be to scale. Write in combinations of letters and numbers to describe the plants and use another piece of paper to make a legend. For example, my map shows that I6 is Iris Rare Treat, CT4 is Chaste Tree number 4, GF is a clump of Goldenrod Fireworks. If you use a pencil you can easily change your map when the plants get moved or added. The legend also lets you note the flowering time, what year you bought it, or the name of the person who gave it to you as a passalong, or any other thing you want to note. You can also go really overboard and take a photos to attach to your map, maybe at different times of the year for future planning, but I don't. I do take digital photos of my favorites and name them with the map legend ID's, mainly because I have 800 different kinds of plants and get overwhelmed trying to remember all their names and cultivars - especially when they are not in bloom! Another type of map is a grid like they use on road maps. Draw evenly divided squares or use grid paper. Mark numbers across the top of the squares,letters along the sides of the squares, keeping them a consistent size - like one map square equals 24" of ground. Put a permanent corner marker in the ground to use to reference the grid map at the left topmost corner and measure the width and length of the area to map. Use circles or x's on the map to mark plants as you measure the ground every 24" x 24". You only have to do this once. To use this grid map, for example, you have a daylily at B5 and find it by measuring from the corner marker over 48" to the right and down 120". A list of all your plants shows B5 as Daylily Buttered Popcorn. You could also put markers in the ground every 24" so you wouldn't have to use a measuring tape every time, or you could mark your shovel handle in 24" sets. Using either method of map making means you will have to keep a list of your plants, but most of us do anyway, in some form or another. It is a pleasant way to relax when it is too hot, cold, wet, or you're too tired to garden but want to be involved in gardening. It takes some time to get the maps started but once you do keeping them updated is done quickly. Even though I don't have little ones playing in my garden, there are visitors and wild critters, wind, rain, and Mother Nature's litter that keep it stirred up. So, I walk around every once in a while with my clipboard and maps, erasing plants that didn't make it, adding some volunteer seedlings, noting where I need to divide or prune, or ADD more plants, and saying hello to some plants from people I treasured. Nancy the nancedar

Sorry if this is a repeat; I 'stole' this idea from someone else: buy new CLEAN tiny, tiny clay pots. The sort too small to really keep something alive, usually at Michael's or other big craft stores the 2" across are 3/$1.00. Wash and dry them throughly. Must be bone-dry. Write the plant name & info with a sharpie, paint a pretty design on remainder with exterior paints (I always have cans and cans of mark-down house paint I use for birdhouses.) Spray with clear sealer. Take a nice heavy-duty wire clothes hanger, not the wimpy ones the drycleaner gives you. Untwist neck, with pliers ball up the whole hook/neck area and feed wire through pot so that the ball becomes a stopper inside the little pot. Gently curve the wire from the pot up and then down - making a large 'C' shape. Now when you thrust the end of the wire deeply into the ground the little pot dangles and even bobs a bit like a large snowdrop or bluebell. I haven't done any yet but after I saw them so nicely done by an aquaintance - they are definately on my back burner. Gardeners_Hands

I was going to start a new posting when someone was talking about plant labels, but searched first and found this and figured that I would add it here instead... hopefully it gets found if people are interested. I found this trick in a magazine, and although the markers aren't as attractive as the commercial ones, when I am doing hundreds of seedlings, I am more worried about cost effective than beauty. Heavy duty plastic knives with either permanent marker or a printed label work wonders. They are way tougher than any commercial plastic markers I have found, go into the ground very easily without breaking, and are quick and cheap! I buy mine at Costco in a box of 600 for around $9. I use them for everything from marking my seedling trays, to marking the actual garden perrennials. Julie

AjFan: I've been pondering the same question for several years and have generally used the Zinc Botanical Markers found in the Metal markers section of the web site below. Actually, most garden centers carry these type of markers and also generally have them in two sizes: one as shown at the link noted in this post and one slightly larger. In years past, I used a Dymo machine and "printed" the labels out and fixed them to the zinc markers. I was fortunate if they lasted more than two seasons due to the sometime rapid climate changes on the tallgrass prairie area of central Illinois. Eventually, I gave up on using these labels (Dymo). However, I have been toying with the idea of using some of the newer labeling machines with heavier backing tapes, which come in different widths. Although they are relatively expensive "toys" if simply used only in the garden, I thought that these machines and the newer tapes could be put to a world of uses - namely the labeling of file folders, etc. in the home and/or office. One could use the regular tapes for labeling folders and other things around the home and use the tapes with heavier backing in the garden. Two of the (Brother) label makers that I am currently considering are the: PT-1960 Deluxe Labelmaker with Carry Case, 4-Line BRTPT1960, which Amazon is offering for less than $80.00 or the: PT-2610 Labeling System, Includes CD-ROM, USB Cable, AA Batteries, Carrying Case BRTPT2610, which Amazon is offering for under $120.00. With a little searching, I suspect that you may find either machine for a little less. Obviously, either one is a good chunk of money, but if you can whip up a good excuse to use either one in various situations, they might become "more reasonable." ;>) As for me, I'll probably opt for the 2610 model, which has more features, i.e. fonts, uses up to a 1 inch tape, etc. The 2610 model is currently being used by our office/school secretary in the educational building where I work. With the holidays coming up and the potential high price of heat, I suspect I'll put its purchase on a temporary hold and save my hard earned money and purchase the 2610 model early next year with the arrival of spring. I already have the Zinc Botanical Markers noted in the link below having purchased them locally. Hope these ideas and resources are of some assistance. Bill Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Markers That Last