Gardening

This set of photos begins documenting an experiment to see which type of pen will prove most durable for outdoor plant labels. I also took a few pictures around the yard, as long as I was out there with the camera.


These are the three pens I'm testing: the old Sharpie permanent marker (fine point), the new Sharpie oil paint pen (fine point), and the new Craft Smart paint pen (broad point). I would have preferred all fine points, but the Craft Smart was only available in broad at the time, which is a bullet point rather than a chisel and not ideal for writing at this size. Extra-fine would be easier to write with, but may not last as well. If I get good results from these, however, I might try that in the future.




Next, I opened the two new pens and got them started. This is a bit of a nuisance. You have to shake them, because they have a little ball inside like a can of spray paint does. Then you have to press down on the nib to start the paint flowing; hold the pen straight up with the point on a writing surface and then push down until the nib mostly disappears into the tube. It took a lot of repetitions, although the Craft Smart paint pen was a little quicker to get going than the Sharpie oil paint pen. And you have to do all this carefully to avoid spattering paint everywhere. Shake only with the cap ON firmly and holding it in place. Press down on nib gently, only for a few seconds at a time, so it doesn't flood. This is why I was using a marker for years, but it's just not permanent enough anymore. The company may have changed the formula or who knows what else.

The labels are plastic cut down from water jugs. They're free and they do a tolerably okay job if the ink holds up. I use a ton of these things. There are more permanent plant labels of varying kinds, but the good ones are all pricey.

Each pen now has its matching label beside it. You can see that the new Sharpie oil paint is the most opaque. The old Sharpie permanent marker is the most translucent. The new Craft Smart paint is in between, and less smooth to write with, but it more or less works. I'm kind of surprised by how distinct the differences are right from the beginning. Based on this, I expect the new Sharpie oil paint to last the longest, followed by the new Craft Smart paint, while the old Sharpie permanent market will likely fade fastest.




Next I took the labels outside to place them where they can weather.

This is a long view of the south lot looking west. It is sunny and windy here, good for testing the weathering of the labels.




Here is a closer view of the picnic table. I had a batch of false indigo seeds growing in pots, and their labels (made with the old Sharpie permanent marker) faded in a few weeks or months. Usually it would last about a year.




I stuck the labels in a pot the way they would normally be used.




In this closeup view, you can see the writing on the labels better. Again, the Sharpie permanent marker is the most translucent, the Sharpie oil paint pen is the most opaque, and the Craft Smart paint pen is in between. I will check on these periodically and take pictures to show how well they last.




Then I took some more pictures.

I spotted this nest in a tree along the south hedge of the south lot. At first I thought it belonged to a fox squirrel, but on closer examination, it seems to hold a lot of sticks and our squirrels strongly prefer leaves for their nests. It may belong to a bird. It could very well be an American crow nest, as we have them here and they have fought doggedly over this yard against a great horned owl. It's way too small for bald eagle, probably for redtail hawk, and the other medium-size birds like American kestrels and northern flickers tend to be cavity nesters.




Looking east in the south lot, you can see our garden shed, which we just got this fall.




In the purple-and-white garden, some of the irises that I planted in fall are doing quite well and even still have green leaves. I put in a whole bunch of them here and under the maple tree, and it looks like a good number of them have survived. \o/ Less visible, some bulbs have leaves out and the first buds of the 'Autumn Joy' sedums are appearing.




This is one of the trees where I spread leaf mulch earlier today.




Under the maple tree, some bulbs have their long leaves out while others are just peeking through the soil.




The log garden lies under the mulberry tree in the house yard. I have since spread leaf mulch around here too, leaving some gaps for the green leaves.




Looking west along the driveway, you can see the 'Royal Family' hollies in the Midwinter Grove, which we just planted at Yule. They seem to be doing well so far.




Here you can see the bark mulch that I spread around the hollies earlier.




This closeup view shows the holly berries. Apparently the birds haven't found them yet, but these are supposed to be very popular as winter-persistent fruit for hungry birds. So if you want to attract more birds to your yard, consider adding more shrubs or trees with fruit that clings through winter.




What kind of markers or pens do other folks use for plant labels?