How to Mark a Border - or Maybe Not

You know how writers are always telling us to design our new borders using garden hoses to create the shape?  Ever actually tried it?  The straight-talking reality is that even on the hottest of days, my hose isn't supple enough for the job, which makes me wonder:  Have these writers ever actually tried it?  But let's move on.

So what does work?  Because I'm continually tweaking my own borders and creating them for my clients, too, I really needed to know, so I perused the paint department at my local Home Depot and selected the fine Rust-Oleum product on the left, which label declares it to be a "Professional Inverted Marking Paint - Use to highlight...athletic fields and more."  I'd found something like this once before and it worked great - you just walk along like a professional who knows what she's doing and create a lovely curved line to impress any client.  So I bought up every can on the shelf - 5 of 'em - because they're hard to find.

So my neighbor and I were having a great time the other day creating her side of our Amazing Combined Border (photos coming soon to this very blog) and I took out the trusty Rust-Oleum and tried can after can but couldn't get the damn things to work.  Some kind of goo came out but no actual paint, and no color.  Perplexed and always intimidated by products from the hardware store, I consulted a male, hardware-going friend, who closely examined the can and found a vital piece of fine, fine print at the very bottom, back side of the can.  First a bunch of numbers, naturally, then the word "Clear."

Now you know I was raised right and watch my language, but what the !#@*???  Please tell me how something that's CLEAR can MARK ANYTHING!  Seriously, Rust-Oleum people, just give me a clue.  In the meanwhile, I'm sticking with your competitor, Krylon's inverted marking paint "Mark-It" in "bright, bold colors" - yes, that's the idea!  I found it at a funky little Ace Hardware on Capitol Hill.  Go independents!

In the spirit of full disclosure, this isn't the first time I've had a fiasco involving a bunch of numbers and words in fine print, so you'd think I'd learn.  Okay, I'm learning that Boomer gardeners should have their reading glasses with them at all times, I guess.  And certain paint companies should figure out what the hell they're producing.

Comments

[Amy Stewart]

How about diatomaceous earth, bone meal, agricultural lime, or some other whitish fertlizer? There's a nursery here that sells it in bulk so it's not real expensive...

[Takoma Gardener]

Amy raises a good point, esp as any of those would be cheaper. So the next question is where do I find one of those nifty containers to hold that stuff while I walk along and release it? I've seen a designer on HGTV use one.

[Pam J.]

Amy's comment makes me ask: why not just use regular flour? Or talcum powder? And you asked "where do I find one of those nifty containers to hold that stuff while I walk along and release it?" I think your hand would work just fine. Grab a handful of flour and sprinkle. Just idle thoughts from a non-gardener.

[Kathy Jentz]

Also try chalk or brick dust - you can use any hand-crank fertilizer/seeder/spreader.

[Takoma Gardener]

I've tried the hand-drop method and it involves bending down so close to the ground that you can't see the design you're creating, big picture-wise. What I've seen designers and athletic field people use is a dispenser that drops a good dose of the stuff in a fairly thin line, unlike a hand-crank device, which disperses widely.

[Amy Stewart]

A bag with a corner cut off, kind of like you do when you want to pipe icing onto a cake? (or so I've heard)

[Takoma Gardener]

By God, I think we've got it! Another problem solved by the keen readers of Gardenblogworld.

[M Sinclair Stevens (Texas)]

I've been looking for something like this myself...but wondered, what's in it? Is it bio-degradable? Is it poisonous? Is there any kind of heavy metals in it? And what about the propellant? Is it bad to inhale? Bad for the environment?

[elizabethgardens]

I'm sorry that I have nothing constructive to add...I just wanted to tell you that I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while. You are really good at conveying the frustration that we have all felt at one time or another. Elizabeth

[Pam J.]

One of your alert readers asks "Is it bio-degradable? Is it poisonous? Is there any kind of heavy metals in it? And what about the propellant? Is it bad to inhale? Bad for the environment?" Which, after I catch my breath from reading that litany of horrors, leads me to withdraw my nomination of talcum powder as a cheap, handy, harmless (not) household product. Your alert reader's question reminded me that talcum powder IS toxic, if only mildly. But I stick by my flour idea and I LOVE Amy's hole-in-bag idea. An old pillowcase filled w/ flour and with a little hole in one corner. You drag it along behind you creating swirls and swishes. Luddism forever-Death to shopping!

[Sandy]

I use spray paint.