How to Make Garden Plant Markers - 5 Cheap and Easy Ideas

Paint stir sticks make easy plant markers. Hardware stores often give a few away free, or sell them for pennies. Lay them on parchment paper and brush one side with chalkboard paint or acrylic using a foam brush. Whitney liked the matte black chalkboard paint best. Let the first side dry, flip the sticks and paint the back.

Once the paint is dry, write each plant name down the stick. Chalk looks nice but washes away in the first rain, so keep chalk for indoor pots. For the garden, use an oil based paint pen. Whitney uses a white Sharpie paint marker and it stands out well on black. Let the lettering dry before the markers go outside.

For a waterproof flag marker, tear off a strip of duct tape about 6 inches long. Lay it sticky side up. Place a bamboo skewer or party stick across the middle, standing straight up and down. Leave about an inch of skewer above the tape so the top looks tidy. A straight stick now means a straight flag later.

Fold one half of the tape over onto the other half so it wraps the skewer and sticks to itself. Line up the edges as well as you can. Press it flat with your palm and smooth out any bubbles near the stick. If the ends do not quite match, that is fine. You are about to trim them off.

Trim the loose end of the tape into a point with scissors to make a little flag or arrow. This hides any uneven edges and gives you a neat shape. You can also cut a swallowtail notch like a banner. Duct tape is waterproof, so these flags hold up well in the rain all season.

Write the plant name on the tape with your paint pen. Go slowly. The pen sits on top of the tape, so give each letter a moment to dry before your hand brushes it. Whitney wrote BASIL on her first one. Push the skewer into the soil beside the plant and you are done.

Craft stores sell small unfinished wood shapes for well under a dollar. Rectangles, ovals and even birds all work. Brush them with chalkboard paint or acrylic in any color you like. Whitney used black, red and blue. Let the first coat dry, then add a second for solid color and write the plant name with your paint pen.

Turn each plaque into a small sign. Put a line of E6000 glue on the top of a black jumbo craft stick and press the back of the plaque onto it. Lay them flat and leave them to dry. Whitney's Serrano Peppers and Blueberries signs look like little store bought garden markers.

Wood door shims are cheap and come in big packs at the hardware store. Use a wood burning tool to write the plant name into the thin end. Whitney wrote MINT. It takes a little practice, so try a few letters on a spare shim first. The tip gets very hot, so keep your fingers back and set it in its stand between letters.

For the neatest look, use an embossing label maker. Whitney found a vintage Dymo at a thrift store. Dial in each letter and squeeze to punch out the plant name. Peel off the backing and press the strip onto a black craft stick. The raised white letters look crisp and are waterproof.