Cataloging plants: Part I

My bulb order from Old House Gardens arrived at the end of last week just as OHG promised via their e-mail notification. And Brent and Becky’s shipment should arrive today. I’ve been ready for them for weeks. Oh, not the beds where I’m going to tuck in the bulbs; those are still full of fall-blooming plants in their glory. No, what’s ready are the id cards I make for each plant.

Stop laughing — it’s not as crazy as it sounds! I’ve given up on plant tags in the garden. They disappear, fade, break and disturb the natural look of things. Of course, if your garden is on lots of tours, then having plants marked with their name is a benefit to folks passing through. But for most of us, visitors are usually other gardening friends who will recognize most things. When a question comes up about one of the plants in my garden, if I can’t remember the name or requested information on the spot, I turn to my personal catalog. My card catalog, that is.

When my husband and I began out first garden almost twenty years ago, I began to make a 3x5-inch index card for each plant. I copied information from tags, catalogs or books onto the card, along with where and when I bought the plant, the cost and where I planted it (or planned to plant it) in the garden. I added photos cut from the catalogs if I was concerned about distinguishing between similar plants. While it took a few minutes to write everything out, it reminded me of the things I needed to consider as I did my planting — namely the ultimate size and cultural requirements of each item.

Now it’s become a habit. When I order online in the winter, I sit by the fire and make out my cards. In summer, I sit on the deck with a pile of blank index cards and a box of just-purchased plants on the table in front of me enjoying this stage of gardening as much as any other. My rule is nothing goes in the ground until there’s a card in the catalog.

The cards are literally stored in an old oak library cabinet that once held the cards for books — before libraries put their catalogs online. My cards are categorized and alphabetized making information easy to retrieve. At the moment, they fill one drawer while the remaining drawers have other treasures from the garden: feathers, birds’ nests and eggs, pods and seeds.

It’s a system ideally suited to anyone — like me — who makes lists and uses fountain pens. If that’s not your style but the computer isn’t either, I’ll have some suggestions that might suit you tomorrow.

Photos from top: bulbs from OHG; index cards with information on plants in my garden; my card files and card catalog.

Comments

[Nan Ondra]

I *love* this idea, Linda, being a list-maker myself. And what a glorious home for your card collection, as well as your other treasures. I still miss those cabinets every time I visit a library. Thanks for sharing your idea!

[LINDA FROM EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Thanks, Nan! I've learned to love accessing my public library's collection on line but I agree with you: I still miss all those beautiful old cabinets. We just got a new branch library, but it is so modern that I'm having trouble warming up to it — not enough wood surfaces for my taste.

[Mr. McGregor's Daughter]

You are way too organized for me to emulate, but I do like the idea of making a plant catalog. I was going to get started on that this winter, but Spring Fling plans got in the way.

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

MMD— I can imagine Spring Fling got in the way! I will see how well I do this year. I seem to be spending a lot of time on the blog, but it hasn't been too much of a problem since it's winter. Blogging, gardening and staying on top of both will be interesting come spring.

[Gardening Seeds]

Nice colection... too organized