This occurred to me when a friend moved into a new house and had no clue what had been planted by the previous owner.

Wondering if everyone could consider taking photos of each of their perennials as they emerge and adding the pics to the database - even including pictures taken at public gardens where each plant is labelled. Our database has plenty of great pictures of mature plants, foliage and flowers, but very few of the first sign of growth in the spring.

Dave just added a new category for photo entries, "emerging growth" so hopefully we'll start seeing more included.

emerging growth - good for spring

Another good group of photos to add is how they look at the end of the season. Some just get ratty, others provide interesting seedpods, fall color, etc.

I love photos of plants emerging.

Just edited all my emerging photos. Also included shots of trees and shrubs breaking dormancy as 'emerging' - hope that was correct? Japanese maple leaves in particular look much different when they first break dormancy than later in the season.

pirl said:I love photos of plants emerging.

Me too, pirl.

Great idea about the JM's and other trees breaking dormancy. I sweated it out with the gift of a Paperbark Maple last year. It finally emerged on May 12th.

Always nice to see those first signs of life! My rather loose goal for My List is to have a personal photo of each plant emerging in spring, at peak, and in fall. Helps to jog my memory and plan forward.

For me, the best part of taking photos as they emerge is seeing what is planted around them because I tend to lose track.

I never lose track of the asparagus!