These 5 DIY Plant Markers Are a Lovely Way to Label Your Garden

Have you ever planted something and forgotten what it was? Or perhaps sticking the little plastic tag that came with a plant into the soil nearby spoils your aesthetic. Now you can keep all your vegetables, herbs, and flowers clearly labeled with stylish DIY plant markers. All you'll need are a few simple tools and inexpensive supplies such as paint and glue. Then, let your inner artist loose while you turn everyday items such as canning jar lids and wooden stakes into fun, colorful plant markers. Whether you're all about the modern farmhouse look or prefer something more rustic, one of these projects is sure to suit your style.

1. Canning Jar Lid Plant Tags

What You Need

• Acrylic paint
• Canning jar lids (wide mouth works well)
• Decorative stickers (try the scrapbook department of your local crafts store)
• Paint pen
• Outdoor sealant
• Needle-nose pliers
• 16 gauge brass wire, cut to 15-inch lengths

How to Make It

1. Using acrylic paint, apply two coats to each jar lid.
2. Once the paint has dried, apply the decorative stickers and use the paint pen to write the plant names.
3. After the paint has dried, apply 2-3 coats of the outdoor sealant and allow to dry.
4. Using the needle-nose pliers, bend a flat coil at the top of a length of wire.
5. Once the sealant has dried, secure the lid in the flat coil.

2. Colorful Wood Stake Tags

What You Need

• Wooden garden stakes, sanded
• Painters tape
• Acrylic paints
• Paintbrush
• Paint pen
• Outdoor sealant

How to Make It

1. Mark the height you want the paint on your stake, and tape off with painters tape.
2. Dilute a small amount of your acrylic paint with water, roughly a 1:1 ratio. Add more water if you want more wood grain to show through.
3. Apply paint with paintbrush and allow to dry.
4. Once paint has dried, use paint pen to write on each stake.
5. Once all the paint has dried, apply a coat of outdoor sealant.

3. Decoupaged Farmhouse Tags

What You Need

• Scrapbook paper
• Outdoor decoupage
• 2x4 board sliced into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, sanded
• Paint pen
• Wood glue
• Bamboo garden stakes, cut to 1 foot
• Hot glue and hot glue gun
• Jute twine

How to Make It

1. Cut scrapbook paper into desired shape and apply outdoor decoupage to the face of the 2x4 slices to adhere.
2. Once the decoupage has dried, use the paint pen to write the names of plants on each tag.
3. After the paint has dried, apply 2-3 more coats of outdoor decoupage to seal the tag.
4. When the decoupage has dried, add a small bead of wood glue to the back of the tag and place the bamboo plant stake along it.
5. Once the wood glue has dried, place a dot of hot glue on the back side to hold the jute twine, then wrap the twine around the tag and stake in an X shape, securing with hot glue again on the back.

4. Rustic Wood Disk Tags

What You Need

• Wooden disks roughly 2-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, sanded if necessary
• Pencil
• Wood burner
• Drill and 1/8-inch bit
• Outdoor sealant
• Wood glue
• Bamboo garden stakes, cut to 1 foot
• Jute twine
• Yarn needle

How to Make It

1. Use a pencil to draw the words and any pattern you wish to burn onto the wooden disks. Then carefully use the wood-burning tool to apply the pattern to the disks.
2. Mark the location of the four holes you will need to drill for the twine, above the plant name. Then drill using a 1/8-inch bit.
3. Once the holes are drilled, apply 2-3 coats of outdoor sealant, if desired, to protect the wood for outside use.
4. After the sealant has dried, apply a thin bead of wood glue to the back of each disk, and place a bamboo stake along glue, securing temporarily with painters tape.
5. Thread a length of the jute twine through the yarn needle, and coming from the back side, stitch an X in the four holes you drilled. This should leave the throw ends of twine on the back side. Tie them off and apply a dot of glue to secure.

5. Watercolor Polymer Clay Tags

What You Need

• White polymer clay (roughly 1 package per 4 tags)
• Alphabet stamp set
• Acrylic paints
• Outdoor sealant
• .062 armature wire

How to Make It

1. Roll out clay to size and smooth edges. Take a length of the armature wire and impress it around the edges to make a groove for the wire to rest in.
2. Use the stamp set to impress the word you want on each tag. Bake according to manufacturer's directions. Allow to cool.
3. Dilute acrylic paints heavily with water, roughly a 2:1 ratio of water to paint.
4. Apply paint lightly to achieve a watercolor effect.
5. Once paint has dried, apply outdoor sealant. Allow sealant to dry and apply a second or even third coat.
6. Once the sealant has dried, wrap a 2-foot length of wire, on center, around the edges of the clay, and twist together at the base of the tag to secure.