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Record keeping.

14 years ago

I take pictures. This morning I walked the entire perennial bed. Most of these plants were wintersown, grown from cuttings, or offloaded from Carrie. ;)

In January, when I start planting out, I'll refer to these images. I'll be moving things this fall and will take new photos then. Every couple of months, I do this just so I can remember what was where and the color/texture/size combinations that I like and don't. Lots of things will get moved this year. Some things will be shovel pruned after collecting seeds.

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Comments (8)

ontheteam
14 years ago
HEY!! Can I talk you in to mailing the shovel pruned ones to me? I'll pay for postage.

The car accident really put me behind for the plant sale next year. I needed to have 1500 plants sown/potted up in to 3 in pots.
I have about 500...

Here is a link that might be useful: begging...
token28001
Original Author
14 years ago
I only shovel prune annuals. The heat takes it out of them. That's why I wait to collect the seeds first. Perennials get moved to an out of the way place if I'm not sure I like it. They get two years to prove me wrong. ;)

But in spring, I will have lots of divisions of perennials. I should be able to send you some things then. My shastas are reproducing faster than Carrie's rabbits.
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Thanks Les, Nance & Steve :) The photos are a mix of my own photographs and some off the internet. If I buy a bigger plant, I will use my own photo, but if it is a very young plant, I'll use one off the internet. No particular source, I look at several sites and pick my favorite photo. As far as learning Excel, I'm kind of self taught. Several years ago, when I had never used Excel before, my boss forwarded me an email with an Excel attachment. The document was a series of statistical pie charts & line charts. She said "you're doing these from now on" and that was all the direction I was given. So I basically dissected that spreadsheet and played with it until I could figure out how she created those charts. It was a great learning experience. Now I use Excel for everything! One of my most important Excel documents is not garden-related. I'm 49 and my memory isn't always reliable ("didn't we just buy that refrigerator?"), so I created a spreadsheet "Important Events & Purchases". I keep a tab for each year, and document all of our major purchases, like appliances, cars, etc. along with purchase price. Other columns include home improvement projects, vacations, health issues , and events (such as weddings, deaths, new jobs, etc). Yeah, I love Excel, lol. Wendy
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I keep an excel spreadsheet with the cultivar name, date, place purchased and price. Also update it occasionally if it dies or seems to have any other problems. I also made a little map with excel for each bed and area. In the past I have used the cheap plastic markers and sharpie but they need to be renewed at least every year. I also have several painted stones but they get moved around easily. This year I am trying something different with physical labels. I've got some nice flat stones, painted the hosta name on them (not a very good artist), drilled a hole and screwed them to a 3/8" dowel. Only going to do a few and see how they survive the winter.
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pitimpinai
14 years ago
Your garden is impressive, token. You have so many varieties there. Are most of those plants perennials in your garden? They would be annuals where we are.

Thanks for sharing your garden with us.
token28001
Original Author
14 years ago
It's my first year growing Rudbeckia hirta, so I'm anxious to see if it overwinters. The other rudbeckias I had last year. The hibiscus plants are hardy. All the currently blooming coreopsis came from one plant last summer. I divided it into 12 pieces this spring. I'm amazed at how fast it spreads. The castor beans and most of the salvias are annuals. So I collect lots of seed.

There really is a lot of variety out there, thanks to wintersowing. Last year, I had a few cosmos, a couple roses, and some black eyed susans. This year, HUGE difference.
gardencrazy
14 years ago
Your yard looks awesome! I love how lush the arbor turned out!
ontheteam
14 years ago
Thanks Token! It will be much appreciated!
carrie630
14 years ago
Ha Ha "faster than Carrie's rabbits"... Ha ha (not so funny ;0)

Token - Wow - you did so much and everything looks fantastic - I bet your neighbors are peeking out their windows trying to figure out how much money you spent to make your gardens so lush .... shh don't tell them.

Yes, those melas look great - they are the BEST reseeders.

How's the "old lady" next door? Bringing her any flowers?....;0/

Carrie
token28001
Original Author
14 years ago
Oh, the neighbors all know I grew this from seed. Even heard a 12 year old tell his friend that "that's the guy that planted all those flowers. It used to be grass there."

It really does help to have a lot of morning shade. The beds in the back where the sun really blazes most of the day aren't looking nearly as good. Next year, I have dead spots to fill, want lots more yvonne's salvia, and will expand this to the backyard.

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