A good time to work on garden maps

Talk about hostas, hostas, and more hostas! Companion plant topics should be posted in the Shade Garden forum.

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thy
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USDA Zone: 7
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Post by thy »

Reldon- I have been thinking of a dictaphone thing my self- a cheap taperecórder is a great ide- may even find one insted of thinking of finding one :lol:

I knew something was wrong- hang in there - at least your garden will be beautiful :D

Pia
Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.
E-mail for pics hostapics@gmail.com
eastwood2007
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Location: kansas, usa zone 5b

Post by eastwood2007 »

Very funny, Renaldo! Y'all are a hoot! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Charla
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
Linda P
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Location: N W Illinois, zone 5

Post by Linda P »

Thanks for the reminder, Wanda. I've thought for years about doing the sort of mapping system that you use. I even took a landscape design class 20 or so years ago where the teacher MADE us do it. At that time, my garden was in its' infancy, and I had one bed to map. Then I got so busy with my craft business (wholesale and retail at the same time) and new grandbabies that there wasn't enough time to do anything but throw new plants in the ground. That original map, along with the projected bed areas that I drew out, became the basis for my garden today, but I never got around to updating any of it, and I'm not even sure where it is now.
What I do is a combination of some of the things others have used. I keep a list on my computer of all my hostas. It's the same one that appears on my journal page here. I include the year purchased or acquired, along with initials of people I've shared that plant with. > means I shared a piece with someone, and < means someone gave it to me.
I used to keep more info on that list, but have pared it down quite a bit over the years. I update that each year and print out a new copy. I also take pictures of my beds each year. In the fall, while I still (hopefully) remember where I've put anything new or relocated, I go around with my trusty black and white composition book, and write everything down in each bed using compass directions as my key. Over the winter I transcribe the notes in the compostion book, store it on my computer, and print out a copy.
The sad thing is that I used to have what I call a picture memory. Not exactly a photographic memory, but I could recall in detail anything that I had looked at. I used to keep track of my friend's hosta bed for her that way. I was able to store and retrieve it all for her through 2 moves, and was okay until she started moving them around at her present location (often without telling me that she had moved them until the time when she couldn't find something)!!! She was under the impression that she didn't have to keep any notes, because I've always been able to remember before what she had and where. Not so. The pathways to my picture memory are clouded with age, and therefore no longer reliable!
Reldon...I'm a recovering perfectionist myself. I know how that whole thing goes! It's taken me a long time to realize that doing something is better than holding off until I can do it right.
Oh, Pia? I can attest to the fact that Reldon uses that little tape recorder. Hard telling what blackmail fodder he has on that thing. :lol: Actually, using the tape recorder is a great idea. I could use that instead of the composition book to do my walk-around maps in the fall.
Linda P
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne

Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"


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Shade Tolerant
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Post by Shade Tolerant »

I also use maps. I have one for each bed to let me know what's where. Very helpful when the hostas are first coming up and it's so hard to differentiate between them. I tried labels too but they tend to wander :D
Jamie
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Joined: Dec 11, 2002 10:14 am

Post by Jamie »

What's a MAP? Is that one of those things in a convenient store? :D :D .. No maps here cause it takes the enjoyment out of trying to figure out where I put the hosta :lol: :lol:
Mary Ann
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Post by Mary Ann »

I, too, find a tape recorder invaluable when photographing individual hosta. Each bed is assigned an alphabet letter which is added to the file name when I rename each picture. I do feel kind of silly talking into the recorder when I'm out there in the garden.

My maps are hand-drawn haphazardly but give me a good reference to where every hosta should be. It's just a hobby, isn't it?
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Papou
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Location: Zone 5b, Ontario, Canada

Post by Papou »

For my records, I use my digican and my computer. Like MaryAnn, I use the movie function on my digicam and talk into the microphone as I move the camera around and as I take a close-up of an hosta.
I use Corel Draw to make sketches of my various beds where I note the name of each hosta, the eyes and sizes in each year.
eastwood2007
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Location: kansas, usa zone 5b

Post by eastwood2007 »

Beautiful pic, Mary Ann! Oh, Jamie, I have to know exactly where every hosta is! How else would I know exactly where to watch hours on end this time of year waiting for those noses to show!!! :lol: In previous years I always thought i would remember where I put what, etc. But by the next spring, I don't have a clue. I like to know exactly which hosta is where! I picked them by name, I plant them by name, and I admire them by name! :P and don't anybody make any comments about me being addicted. I am in complete denial!!! I just want to be clear about that right up front! :lol:
Charla
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
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thy
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Location: Denmark - 7B/8A Lat. 55,23

Post by thy »

Adicted- who- what :o
No one here are :wink:

Mary Ann, at least you have a reason to talk - better than talking to you self or the dog :lol:

Linda P - Smart thing that < and >
I do my list clock wise- or rather the opposite of it :lol: , byt the first hosta bed is to the right when I enter the garden from the house. When I print it, I leave several blank lines between the names - during the summer, some of them are filled out :o
During the winther too- when I am stupid enough to thing a new little hosta would fit in there perfectly- you know, leave shape and colors just fit.
Space is a summer problem :lol:

Pia
Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.
E-mail for pics hostapics@gmail.com
Wanda
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Location: Z5, Mid-Michigan

Post by Wanda »

I love hearing about all the clever and creative ideas to keep track of hosta! One of my favorite things about these forums is everyone’s willingness to share...hosta, ideas and friendship!

wanda

ps. just finished the 19 pages of maps and corresponding plant lists for each. Ummmmm, somehow, I seem to have ended up with about 500 hosta in 6 years! Honest, with that many hosta, my maps are a complete necessity for me to keep track of who is where. What they don’t tell me is how I ended up with 11 August Moon...and no Aspen Gold?
eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

19 pages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charla
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
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renaldo75
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Post by renaldo75 »

And each of Wanda's 19 pages is exactly the same size as the hosta bed. :wink:

BIG SKETCHBOOK!! :o :o :lol:
GO HAWKEYES!!!

Renaldo's Hosta List
Latitude: 40° 59' 17.6676"; Longitude: -94° 44' 28.014"
Wanda
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Joined: Oct 26, 2001 8:00 pm
USDA Zone: 5
Location: Z5, Mid-Michigan

Post by Wanda »

Charla: In a couple years, I will remind you of this conversation - you very easily may have more maps than that by then! I innocently bought 6 hosta 6 yrs. ago. Then I met this group of folks and the next thing you know, there were 500 hosta (287 varieties) out there in the gardens! And just one of my hosta gardens is 125’x31’. Compared to many of our friends here, I am just starting out with my collection...I know at least a few have 1,000-1,500 varieties! Just keeping track of that many would be a full-time job, let alone caring for them!

Reldon: You a such a hoot! The biggest garden is twice as large as the house - big maps would never fit inside (hehe). Honest, just a regular lined notebook. Needs to be small enough to carry out in the gardens to indicate changes or to map a new bed.

wanda
eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

You're right, Wanda. Actually, I would love to have that 1500 varieties right now! I know I don't have to explain to anyone here the exhilaration of wandering thru your gardens and admiring them...to know every leaf on every plant, to know the subtle variations of colors and shades. I just have to pace myself...not by choice, really. I am the only one in this house that sees things that way! Oh, well....in due time, in due time. :roll: But if I count all the seedlings I have now, I actually think I am way over 500! :D :D :D :wink:
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Charla
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
Wanda
Posts: 2098
Joined: Oct 26, 2001 8:00 pm
USDA Zone: 5
Location: Z5, Mid-Michigan

Post by Wanda »

Yep, it doesn’t take very long to get more hosta than you can safely remember! I always try to catch the interest of the newbies with these “Map” posts...so much easier to start your maps when you start your gardens...rather than a few years down the road, when your memory may be less than reliable and you have so many hosta that it has become a daunting task rather than a labor of love!

wanda
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