Make Your Own Plant Labels | DIY Gardening Project
Photo Credit : Pixabay
A well-marked and organized garden makes growing vegetables and flowers much more enjoyable and efficient, so get a head start on garden planning by making your own plant labels. Here are ten easy and inexpensive plant label ideas that will keep you busy until planting season begins!
Make Your Own Plant Labels | DIY Gardening Project Photo Credit : Pixabay
10 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR OWN PLANT LABELS
1. Paint Stirring Sticks
Paint stirrers may be labeled with permanent markers, painted, or wood-burned to give them a fancier look — as cheap and simple as it gets!
2. Seed Packet and Jar
Secure used seed packets to popsicle or paint-stirring sticks. Then, stick them in the ground and cover with a clear glass jar to weather proof.
3. Bricks
For larger, easier-to-read plant labels that can’t be easily knocked over, bricks — either intact or broken — work well as garden markers. Simply paint, let dry, and put into place.
4. Window Blinds
Don’t discard broken, accordion-style (Venetian) window blinds — use them as homemade plant labels! The individual pieces can be cut into stakes of varying lengths and labeled with the names of your growing veggies.
5. River Rocks & Beach Stones
For a natural look, collect smooth, medium-sized stones from rivers and beaches and label them with the names of your plants using weatherproof paint. Seal with a clear coat to avoid fading.
6. Picket Fence Pieces
To make plant labels that won’t get lost underneath taller plants, use full-length or half-length picket fence pieces. Because they already have a triangular point at one end, they can be easily inserted into the ground. Their size also lends itself nicely to creative painting and stenciling.
7. Mason Jar Lids & Mismatched Forks
Simply mark the lids with a fat permanent marker and glue them to old, unwanted forks — pronged ends up — before inserting the handles of the forks into the ground.
8. Metal Spoons
Metal spoons can be labeled with permanent markers as is, or hammered out and flattened before being written on or stamped with a metal stamper.
9. Wine Corks
Save wine corks and label them with permanent marker. Use wooden skewers as stakes for the corks.
10. Aluminum Duct Tape
Aluminum duct tape has removable paper on the back, and can be cut to size and secured to a stick. Label by writing on the reverse side of the tape with a pencil, pressing firmly to create a raised/stamped effect. Aluminum duct tape is available at hardware stores — just be sure to purchase tape and not actual sheeting!
Using different types of plant labels in different parts of your garden can give your space variety and add yet another layer of organization. What do you like to use as plant labels?
Shelley (Fleming) Wigglesworth is an award-winning freelance journalist from Maine and a certified Maine Master Gardener who writes gardening articles on a regular basis for NewEngland.com. Her work can be found in the following publications: The Village Magazine, York County Coast Star, Yankee Magazine (online), National Fisherman Magazine, Commercial Fisheries News, Points East Magazine, Coastal Angler Magazine and The Maine Lobstermen's Association's "Landings."
