Tuesday, March 17, 2009

My Iris Photo Album and Info

This is the photo scrapbook I have put together for my irises. It's not finished but the photos are in and some stickers are placed. I still need to go through and stamp the lines to write the iris names and info on each page.

Why I have a daylily on the front of the album is beyond me. Still need to change that.








This is my very special iris notebook. It's full of my iris lists, maps, iris culture and everything else iris. This book goes out to the garden with me whenever I'm playing in the irises.




Here is my new P-touch labeler. I have been busy making hundreds of labels for my irises. It couldn't be easier to use! I hook it up to my computer and do all the work from there. This little machine is going to save me lots of labeling headaches in the future!



These are the first labels I made. They are 3/4" tall and 2.5" long. Perfect size for the metal markers I'm using. These are made with the extra strength tz tape. It's great for use outdoors and lasts many years in bad weather. Perfect for my Michigan gardens.



All my iris maps. Some of these are more than seven years old. The iris beds are completely different now for the most part. All of these confusing, stuffed beds have been turned into nice even rows. Much easier to keep track of.



You can see all the dirt smudges and markings over the years. Some things died and others were incorrect or moved some where else in the garden. I keep all of these for memories and for future i.d. if things have gotten mixed up. My current mini blind markers tend to heave out of the ground and blow around in the spring!





These are my iris catalogs and books I have collected over the years. The catalogs are great reference material for i.d. and culture of irises. My collection has outgrown the container I keep them in! Catalogs include Schreiners, Cooleys, Keppel, Ghio, Suttons, Blyth, Mid-America, Ensata and many more.

I am also a member of the American Iris Society. They send out a quarterly book that is wonderful. Full of new info on irises and the latest intros from hybridizers around the country.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Mornin' Flowrgirl, WoW! What a great idea. You are just too organized. I use to have a flower index with everything about my flowers but it was on a word processor and when I switched to computer I was just too lazy to type it up again. I need to do that. But I love your idea - probably better.

Dirt Princess said...

Well you are on top of it! How many irises do you have? Love your iris scrapbook. Thanks for sharing

Connie said...

I can tell you sort of like Irises. :-) Nice blog

Sheila said...

I too love iris! I have used a brother P-touch and metal labels to id my iris for many years and they do last a long time.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

You are really organized. I guess with a large plant collection you would need to be so you know what is what. I like your photo album. It's very pretty. Maybe one day you'll have your own book on iris'.

Heather said...

Hi there Flowrgirl, I love lists and planting plans. But I have a great idea, maybe you could do a post on how you make good plant identifiers. You have mentioned them and your labeler before but I think a lot of folks would love to know what works for harsh weather for many years. I elect you, I need to make something for my newer flower beds but wasn't sure what to make.
Please and thank you:D
-Heather

Joanne said...

How wonderful to be so immersed in your passion, to "own" it! What amazing resources you have put together here. Kudos to you!

Shey said...

Nice blog. I love flowers too and love to take photos of them when I can. I'm not as organized as you though. Awesome job!

Shey said...

Thanks for stopping by my page. Have an awesome day!

Catherine said...

Hello Flowergirl!
Wow, you are really organized! I need one of those labelers~very neat! You really are hooked on Irises :D You inspire me to plant more of these beautiful flowers in my Garden!
Enjoy your day, it's raining here in Va. & all I can do is look out my window & dream of spring, & catch up on housework,~in between
blogging of course!:) If I had one of those labelers I'd bea very busy girl!
Cat

Toni said...

oh, MAN!! I'm getting out my cape, boots and tool belt and organizing a stealth mission to come bandit away all that perfectly LOVELY paper ephemera, your sketches, the flower packets, and the photos. My hands literally ITCHED when I saw all that -- I want it for my journal!!! Gorgeous book -- if only I could garden, I would so so so keep a journal like your scrapbook. When I was a little girl, when we lived in Omaha, the slope in our back yard was coated with iris, all kinds and colors ... I used to lay on a little blue patchwork quilt on the grass among them and pretend I had a horse in the pasture at the top of the hill, or look at the clouds and paint cloud pictures. Your book brought it ALL back!!

Jeph said...

I came across your blog while hunting for the perfect labeller for the gardening stuff... Each year I try writing on something that fades, or printing and laminating something that dissolves, etc. So this year I'm taking it up a notch, and using leftover window blinds scraps, and using a P-Touch... Only I just found out this past week that our old P-Touch using the M-style of labels will still fade in the sun. $*&#@!!!

Ok, fine. So today I ordered what looks like the same P-Touch you have (I already ordered it before finding your blog - so this is definitely some positive reassurance!)! What I still can't tell is if the backing on the labels for the TZ-type are as much a pain as the M-type, or if hopefully they're split down the middle of the label to peel off easier?

Also - I saw one of your fave books was Watership Down - same here!

You might want to try getting your hands on a copy of Greenfingers ( http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Greenfingers/60020839?trkid=222336&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strkid=285282561_0_0 ) - what a great movie for garden-lovers!

Muum said...

that looks like what I need to do. I am collecting/planting/acquiring/ irises, and having a hard time keeping track of them!