Draw a diagram! I got some tall metal markers and between the dogs and snow they were still pulled up, bent over or destroyed, not to mention the permanent marker I used apparently wasn't so permanent. So now almost all my minis and at least half of the rest of my beds are back to noid until they leaf out! Even if you do decide to do markers I would really suggest a diagram. It may be a bit of a hassle if you get busy but it will be totally worth it if a raging toddler tornado blows by. :)

Hey love that NOEL sign I just got that one last year!

I am a Christmas light junkie, your home is just BEAUTIFUL!!

I second the suggestion of a diagram. I keep mine on grid paper and also note in my database the grid coordinates (B17, F24, etc); once I lost a diagram but was able to reconstruct it with the help of my database and just recognizing the plant. Someone here also suggested burying a plant marker at the same location (11:00, 12:00) for every plant; that way you can always dig it up to confirm your id.

Perhaps you or someone in your family knows Miscrosoft Excel or a similar program. I have all my hosta information on several sheets in an Excel file. One is a large fine grid, such as 100 columns and 100 rows of an Excel table, which depicts my yard. Each little square on that grid showing a hosta bed has an abbreviation of a hosta name, i.e. EA for Earth Angel. So, even when I lose a marker I know from the table's grid which hosta is growing there. Actually I do not need any markers.
Bernd

If you don't want to map out your bed, you could take flat rocks and write on them with permament paint. The flat rocks tend to stay in place better than something taller.

There's a whole section in hosta Q and A about markers. It gives specific brand names.

Also, I've heard that paint pens work. They're the ones you buy at the craft store. Permanent markers will fade over a season.

bkay

from experience.. paint pens do not last

if you posted a pic.. you have a photo editor..

simply take your pic.. and put the name on it ... its there.. learn how to use it ...

you cant be far from paw paw label .. in .. wait for it.. paw paw mi ... i think

ken

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I don't have any suggestions but want to tell you I love your Xmas lights. Xmas is the only holiday I decorate for and I focus mainly on the inside. My husbands says it looks like a Xmas elf threw up in the house. I have been wanting to move the show outside for a few years. Your house is awesome.

Thanks for the ideas everyone. After reading everyone's posts, I think I'm going to take pictures and make a diagram. I'm getting an IPad2 in a couple of weeks. It has a camera on it, and I bet I'll be able to take the pictures and drag them right onto a spreadsheet. With the portability of the IPad 2, I should be able to do this right out in the yard.

Thanks for the compliments on the Christmas lights everyone. We have fun with the lights. They're all hooked up to special controllers that allow me to program them all to dance in sync to music. We transmit the music to an FM radio station so you can listen to the music in your car and watch the lights dance. We have cars waiting in line to watch them all November and December and even made the second page of the Grand Rapids Press last year. I originally bought the IPad2 to manage the mile of exentions cords that have to be plugged into the controllers.

I love your Christmas display. That is awesome.

I do not know what kind of paint pens others have used but I purchased mine from the hardware store and they have lasted 8 years and are not fading. I use American Accents by Rust-oleum. My favorite is Metalic Gold.

I do not like things that stick up in the garden it looks to much like a nursery than a garden to me. I have used rocks with the name written with a paint pen above and my back up is pictures.

After having three sets of stand up markers broken, bent and destroyed by my big feet and those of my dog, I plan on using rocks this year. I figure when we step on them it will just push them deeper in the soil making them more permanent. : )

Marquest, I agree, I don't like some of the markers sticking up in my gardens. You should have seen me jumping over all of them when a tree fell as I was squating down measuring the leaf of my Elegans. I heard the crack, looked up, and saw it coming down. I can't believe I was able to miss every marker as I ran out of the garden. The tree crushed my fench and the Elegans that I was measuring.

I appreciate your concern. I asked my husband to stop putting lights on the shrubs across the front of the house because he had no respect for my plant tags. Obvioulsy this is not an option for you considering your substantial committment to lighting - I only had a string or two of lights. How about painting rocks? You can search this forum and see some examples that others have shared in the past.

LOL Gesila...I'm glad you are ok but that is quite a mental picture you painted! Cracks me up that you managed to miss all hosta and markers even in the midst of almost losing your life!

The flat rocks w/ rustoleum paint marker are a good call. If you want to further ensure that they won't fade, shellac the rocks (don't know if "shellac" the correct term...but put some clear coated schtuff on 'em. lol)

At first I went to a lot of trouble to make cement coaster size markers and used paint pens to write on them, then I went to rocks with a paint pen. The cement ones cracked and broke up after a few years, and the paint faded on both. This is my latest: Take an aluminum can and cut it into approx. 1" x 3" address size labels. "Emboss" the name of the hosta by writing on it backwards or upside down. Use a stylus or an ink pen. Works best if you surface it padded with something. I usually fold over the edges too. Then punch holes in both sides using a paper punch. Using some heavy duty wire (wire hangers work great) attach to tag by bending wire around the edge of the label and through the holes and stick in the ground next to the hosta. Actually, I just had a great idea. You could use those metal landscape staples too. Anyway, I stick it all the way down so nothing is sticking up to get knocked over or lost. The aluminum lasts forever and the "embossing" will never fade. Working great so far!