A garden can be made attractive not only by beautiful flowers and ornamental plants but also by other unique decorations such as a pebbled garden path, a small fountain or even a stone bench. Another way to brighten up and decorate your garden is to have plant markers or labels which can also be used as plant ornaments. These markers are very inexpensive and easy to make and look very adorable. They can be made from repurposing or reusing everyday items like pebbles, wine corks, twigs, can lids or even broken pots.
They are very innovative and can help you in using things which are generally considered waste to decorate your garden. Also, they will help in making your garden look organized and will make working in the garden an easier job.
Short term plant labels can be made using wood or metal. Wood will eventually decay or break and metal will rust thus making them usable only for a short time.
Plastic, painted or sealed surfaces, tiles, stones, terracotta, glass, steel are used to make permanent markers for plants that last more than one season. They are not affected by changing weather and water very easily and can last for years.
Read on, for here lie the most feasible, no-money ideas to label your garden plants and have it all look super cute and less laboratory-like!
1. Painted Rock Plant Markers: Collect some smooth stones from your garden or yard and then according to the size of the stone determine which stone can be used for labelling which plant. Paint the top of each stone with waterproof paint. Write the name of the plant on the stone with a permanent marker. To decorate the stone further, add smaller spots of paint using a smaller paintbrush or use the handle end to do the same. Let it dry for a couple of hours and then place them near the plants. These labels work for a long time and in all sorts of weather.
3. Stamped Spoon Plant Markers: Place an inverted spoon between two pieces of wood and strike it hard with a rubber mallet or hammer. Flatten the spoon till you get the desired shape of the spoon. Gather the letters of the plant’s name from the stamping set and start with the middle letter and hammer it down to the spoon. Fill in the letters with a permanent marker.
4. Twig Labels – Collect a few straight and sturdy twigs and prune them using a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler to get a flat surface at one end. On this flat surface, write the name of the plant. This works as a good temporary marker.
5. Clothes pin markers: Clothes pin can be painted using old exterior paint and marked with a permanent pen and then attached to a stick in the yard.
6. Beaded Garden Markers: Take a florist wire and bend a small swirl at one end. Then start by threading a flower bead followed by letters to spell your plant and add another plant to complete the design. Then swirl this end too.
7. Broken pottery markers: Broken pottery can be used to make excellent plant markers by writing the names of the plants using waterproof paint or permanent markers and then digging them near the plant. It also keeps the plants separated.
8. Tin or Plastic Lids Labels: Lids of cans, containers can be flattened and then letters of the plant can be stamped on them. They can then be attached to a fork stake. Even wires can be used to make the stake punching two holes at the opposite ends of the lid and then digging this wire into the soil.
9. Wine bottle plant labels: Use a cleaner to remove the labels and then use a paint or pen to write on the wine bottle. In the mouth till the end stick a bamboo stick and poke it inside the soil to create plant markers.
10. Wooden planks or metal markers: Wooden planks or metal scrap pieces can be glued together bamboo skewers and poked into soil to make plant markers and paint can be used to label them.
11. Pots as plant markers: Non-toxic acrylic matt black paint can be used to paint the pots in which plants are potted and then their names can be written in white paint easily. Certainly a very cheap but attractive method to make plant markers.
12. Ceramic Tile – Old, broken or even discoloured tiles can be used to make waterproof plant markers by just writing the name of the plant using permanent markers.
13. Seed Packets & Popsicle Sticks – These can be used to keep seeds safe and also provide all the information for seed care for every specific plant that you wish to grow. Seed packets are glued to paddlepop sticks and are covered in plastic bottles and then poked into the soil.
14. Wooden Peg Markers – scrap or waste wooden sticks can be used as excellent markers as they can be pegged easily into soil. These sticks can be labelled with permanent marker and decorated with paint or even old nail polish.
15. Adhesive Aluminium Duct Tape: Attach adhesive aluminium duct tape to a plastic knife and then engrave the name backwards on the reverse with a toothpick or even a pen so that it reads correctly from the front.
16. Painted Wood – You can use old pieces of timber or even leftover scraps from construction to create plant markers by painting them with external paint and writing with a permanent marker or paint.
17. Shell Labels – Sea shells not only look pretty as showpieces but they can also be used as plant markers. Just decorate your sea shells by painting them and write the plant’s name with a waterproof permanent marker, glue to a bamboo stick and poke it into the soil.
18. Plastic Plant Labels – Milk, juice or any other plastic bottles with straight sides can be cut and used for labels. Just cut out enough length to write the plant’s name and leave some space at one end so that it can be dug into the soil.
19. Decoupage a pot – In this technique you can use old magazines, paper, or even your seed packet. All you have to do is cut out the lettering of the name of the plant and then glue it to your pot.
