1. Rubbing alcohol and cotton (for cleaning the plant marker surface)
2. Brother P-Touch labeler and laminated tape (Empress of Dirt recommends laminated for a longer lasting marker)
3. Plant markers (I chose American-made markers from the Paw Paw Everlast Label Company in Michigan, located at everlastlabel.com . These are E Rose Labels with zinc plates, and I paid extra for stainless steel wires since wire corrosion was the biggest problem I experienced with my old markers. As of Spring 2015, 30 of these markers were $25.50.)
4. Scissors
5. Tasty beverage (Runa is caffeinated, delicious guayusa tea, BTW)
I chose to include the common name (in a larger size) and Latin names on my labels. The Brother P-Touch allows you to set margins (which I set to be slightly smaller than the width of the marker plate) so that the common name would be on one sticker and the Latin name on another. My Excel spreadsheet detailing what's in each garden bed was helpful here.
Use the cotton, moistened with rubbing alcohol, to remove all dirt and oils from the marker plate face; this will help your labels adhere better. It is also easier to work with the plates before you attach the wires.
The finished product is very neat, and so far hasn't shown a smidgen of corrosion or degradation after being outside for a few months. The big test, of course, will be how they fare during the winter. I will say that I love the way they look in the garden, and that they've been helpful in "placeholding" for plants that bloom in early spring and then die completely back, such as trillium. I'm less afraid I will accidentally dig one of those up when I have dependable signage for them.
Stay tuned for a post-winter post-mortem in 2016!
