Garden labels that welcome everyone

@media only screen and (max-width: 600px) { .mob-pad { padding-left: 20px !important; padding-right: 20px !important; } .mob-img { width: 100% !important; max-width: 100% !important; } h1 { font-size: 22px !important; } h2 { font-size: 17px !important; } } Garden labels that welcome everyone A plant label may be small, but it plays a bigger role than it seems — it can be the difference between a visitor connecting with your collection or simply walking past. This month, we look at accessibility through labels: a brand-new arboretum in South Carolina that chose its tree tags so every visitor can read them, fresh insights on how labels can invite people to slow down rather than pass by, and a student thesis on what makes a label catch the eye in the first place. Let's dive in. Success story Accessibility Nature without barriers — accessibility takes root at Ashem Arboretum On June 30, Old Towne Creek County Park opened its gates in Charleston County, South Carolina — the first fully accessible park of the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, an agency welcoming over 4 million visitors a year. Woven through the new park is Ashem Arboretum, home to 29 trees, from majestic native live oaks to a breathtaking oak allée at the pedestrian entrance. For Paul Genegrasso of Charleston County Parks, accessibility shaped every choice — including the tree labels. Searching for the most accessible tree ID tags on the market, he found that only Plantsoon paired a tactile guide beside each QR code with a scan that opens straight to that plant's own page, alongside a high-quality interactive map. All 29 trees are now catalogued in Plantsoon, including the Community Tree: a young live oak planted at the grand opening, destined to grow up with the park. The established giants tell the story of the land's past — the young oak, its future. Read the full story Discover how Ashem Arboretum made nature accessible to every visitor.  Read the story → Insights Visitor experience From walking to dwelling — extending visitor time in green spaces Watch people in a botanic garden for an afternoon and a pattern emerges: most of them walk. They glance at a bed or a tree and keep moving — attention to any single feature is measured in seconds, not minutes. Yet almost everything we hope a visit will do — restore, teach, satisfy, interest someone in a return visit — lands on the visitors who slow down. In our latest insights article, we dive into what the science of attention and visitor experience says about turning walkers into dwellers. The findings are striking: satisfaction and the wish to return aren't driven by how much information a garden offers, but by emotion and the senses. The article distills three practical design moves — lead with the senses, reward the stop, and give people a reason to return — plus the role a well-designed interactive label can play: not more text to read while walking, but an invitation to pause and go deeper. From Plantsoon Insights How to turn more of your walkers into dwellers.  Read the article → Insights Education What makes a label catch the eye? A student rethinks the plant label Thesis supervisor Heidi Bertels (left) and Roosmarie Mennes (right), pictured with prototypes from her thesis. Before a label can inform anyone, it first has to be noticed. Studies show that most visitors give the average plant label barely a glance — a starting point that led Roosmarie Mennes, a Product Development student at the University of Antwerp, to devote her master's thesis to reimagining the plant label, in collaboration with Plantsoon. Her work explores a question we care about deeply: how do you make people actually stop and look — and then invite them to discover more? Her answer points to the power of a friendly, recognizable visual cue on the label itself — a small spark of personality that catches the eye and bridges the physical label with a richer digital experience. It's a fresh perspective on how a small object on a tree can turn a passing glance into a real connection with the plant. We're delighted to share that Roosmarie earned distinction for her thesis — a well-deserved result. We're proud to have supported Roosmarie's research, and inspired by how her thinking pushes the humble plant label further. A label that goes unnoticed can't welcome anyone — and that's exactly the kind of challenge that keeps us building. In the months ahead, we'll be looking at how to bring her findings into our own products. Accreditation Give your tree collection the recognition it deserves ArbNet is the only global accreditation program for arboreta — and getting accredited is more achievable than you might think. From schools to parks to private collections, Plantsoon helps you document your trees, meet the standards, and earn official recognition. Ready to get accredited? Start your ArbNet accreditation journey — for free Our ArbNet Accreditation Starter Package is completely free and gives you everything you need to document your tree collection, meet ArbNet standards, and achieve recognition — without the complexity. FREE Get the Starter Package → Your ideas matter — share them with us We're always looking to improve Plantsoon — both the platform and our physical plant labels. If you have suggestions, ideas, or feedback on anything we could do better, we'd love to hear from you. Write to us at hello@plantsoon.com — your input directly shapes what we build next.