For garden trees and durable plants, I adore using these aluminum labels that are simple to emboss with a ballpoint pen.
But many of the plants in my garden are annuals. Seasonal changes affect the plants. After the present plant is removed, a new one will be growing there. The likelihood is that the next time you plant tomatoes or peppers, you’ll use a different variety and require a new label.
I adore that I can simply paint over the labels with black paint and reuse them at the end of each season.
How are labels for outside plants made?
Various common home things, such as scraps of wood, pegs, used spoons, and even margarine tubs, can be used to make plant labels. All you need is a little creativity!
You can also find a variety of pre-made types at your neighborhood garden retailer for ease or a very professional finish.
Pebbles
Onto the pebble, write with a permanent marker. Maximum points for creating a tiny illustration to accompany the name. Put it where the plant is, on the ground.
Broken fragments of terracotta pots
Give your pots a new purpose if they didn’t make it through the winter. Insert the broken pieces into the ground after writing directly on them with permanent marker.
Blackboard paint
Use blackboard paint to cover a portion of your pot or container, then write with chalk directly on the painted surface. Will last for a while, but not excellent for intense downpours!
Terracotta/Clay Pots and China
Sometimes dishes and pots break. Don’t give up! It might actually present an opportunity. For my garden, I frequently repurpose damaged pots in inventive ways.
The complete plates/pots or shattered shards should have labels attached. Here are a few inventive uses for them.
‘Stakes’ made by soldering metal wire on the back. followed by painting with acrylic outdoor paint, adding some rub-on letters, and finishing with an adhesive spray for durability.
Clean and uncomplicated. Simply write the name of the plant on the broken pot piece and put it in the ground using a pen, stencil, or vinyl sticky letters.
Glass Jar + Seed Packet Plant Labels
I save my garden’s seeds. However, nothing is worse than having a crop that produces an extraordinarily high amount of food but forgetting where you got the seed or what variety it was! Here’s a clever answer.
One of the finest ways to keep seed packets safe and weatherproof is to lay them over a post and cover them with a glass jar. It also has all the information you need to remember!
Cork Plant Labels
Save old mats, cork tiles, and wine bottle corks to make recycled plant labels like these.
Glue a labeled cork to the end of a bamboo skewer for a cheap, green solution!
Tin or Plastic Lids as Plant Markers
Save the lid the next time you open a can or container. Here are some ideas for repurposing them as plant labels.
This label’s letters are stamped, colored with permanent marker, and fastened to a fork “stake” in this manner.
Use used lids as stake markers by adhering pictures from your seed catalog.
Corflute
This is the substance used to make real estate signage. The signs can be recycled after use to create durable plant identifiers. These are some that I created with the schoolchildren.
The students had a lot of fun decorating the corflute with sticky colored contact, markers, and buttons after we stapled it to a wooden post.
Here, we used contact sheet sheets to cut out the letters, which we then adhered using hot glue along with chenille sticks and flowers.
Print Plant Labels and Cover with Contact
Create your own labels using a computer, print them off, and cover them in transparent contact. To ensure that the plant marker is waterproof, make sure the edges are sealed tightly.
Kids can help design and cut out these delightful waterproof labels. Glue down to a peg “stake”!
11. Plant labels on ceramic tiles
Recycle old tiles to create durable markers. Most tile stores have a trash can with miscellaneous items in it. Or perhaps you still have some from a renovation project. Plant names and images can be painted or stenciled.
Popsicle Stick Stencilled Plant Markers
This adorable and colorful initiative encourages kids to take control of their patch in school gardens.
Kids may create a great project using paint and stencil letters for their container garden or vegetable patch.
Adhesive Aluminium Duct Tape
Making these labels is quick and simple. They might be helpful in preventing birds from devouring your fruit.
Attach aluminum duct tape that is both sticky and repositionable to a plastic knife “stake,” then use a pen to engrave the plant name backwards on the label. When that happens, the front will read appropriately!
Plastic Plant Labels
Recycle any resources you have at your disposal. Labels can be cut off milk and juice bottles or pretty much any other plastic container with straight sides. Ice cream lids and even used plastic tableware from a picnic are other options. Just poke in the soil. To produce your own labels from plastic bottles and to save money on other gardening items, refer to my tutorial.
I cut the sides of milk bottles, then I cut a point at the end, to produce labels.
Making your own tag is equally simple. Simply cut strips off a plastic ice cream lid, punch a hole, and attach the strips with a twist tie.
To reuse picnic or party cutlery and prevent waste from going to the landfill, use a simple painted plastic knife marker.
Wooden Spoon Plant Markers
Find a new purpose for your wooden spoons outside as a plant label if the handle breaks or they have seen better days.
used a permanent marker to label
My broken wooden spoons are “planted” in the garden to keep them functional.
Twig and Pruned Brnch Labels
Trim a few thin, angular branches or straight twigs. Slice a flat surface with a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler. Use the wood as a temporary label because it will deteriorate in the weather.
Sea Shell Labels
Save your shells and add some originality. If desired, cover with a clear gloss.
I use a bamboo stake next to the plant stalk to mark the plants from which I wish to collect seed. For simple identification, I attach my reusable label with thread on the stake.
Create your own “Save for Seed” labels at home using a computer, print them out, and laminate them.
Tips for DIY Plant Labels
whole surface treatment Use of grease, wax, or Chinagraph pencils is one of the best advice I can give from my experience. This is a little-known fact in the design and gardening fields. These wax pencils come in a range of colors and may be used on almost any surface, including plastic, glass, stone, and metal. I buy from a company called Lumocolor.
On black surfaces, I’ve discovered that yellow and white are clearly apparent. Terracotta and pots with light colors look great in black or blue. They are affordable (particularly if you purchase them from a wholesale art supply retailer; mine cost me A$1.55 as opposed to A$3.95 at the garden nursery!) Additionally, they are highly durable and offer fantastic value.
They function well on seed-raising flats and trays, which is crucial because they are constantly damp. The other benefit is that you may change the label by simply rubbing the old one off with a paper towel.
Indelible Marking. I’ve tried using permanent markers outside, but it depends on your climate how long they last. While they function effectively in dry conditions (under cover or for a brief period of time), it can be difficult to prevent them from fading in hot or humid temperatures. To seal the label, try applying a clear coat of nail polish or clear spray varnish.
Take It. Maintain a digital photo archive of the plant labels that arrive with your purchases of plants. For a permanent, waterproof plant label that won’t fade, store them on your computer or print them out and laminate them. A roll of sticky, transparent contact paper that is used to cover books can be purchased for less money. Your plant labels should be double-laminated. When cutting to size, simply leave a good seal around the edges.
DIY Printable Plant Label Templates
I sincerely hope that these suggestions have given you some creative and affordable DIY plant labeling inspiration. Find more ideas for plant markers in these DIY Repurposed Garden Projects. What design for a plant label is your favorite?
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How should a plant label be written?
Labels matter. especially if you are looking at a tray of compost or a faint line that has been etched into the ground. Although you might think you will, you won’t recall what you planted. Or, at least, you might for the first few trays or at the start of the season. However, once spring takes hold and there is something fresh to sow every week, one row swiftly gives way to the next. You might believe that preserving the packet will serve as a sufficient reminder, and that is possible. However, I spend my entire life removing seed packet fragments that have gotten on my clothes after running them through the washer while hiding them in pockets. A strong, reliable label is necessary.
The majority of labels are made of white plastic for a reason—they stand out against the black dirt and are simple to read. They might be a bit of an eyesore if they were dispersed all throughout, though. A nice option are black labels, but you have to use a special white pen, which negates the purpose. You can bury the label if it is written in pencil because ink frequently fades in the sun and is destroyed by soil. Bury it behind the plant’s back so you can always dig around a little and find it. Plastic labels can easily be cleaned with wire wool and reused. (Now is the ideal moment to carry out such a task.)
There are several plastic substitutes. Metal, slate, and wooden labels all have a long lifespan. My favorite is indented metal using character punches and a jig because I’m old school and began my gardening career in the labeling section. These occasionally appear on Alitag or eBay as fresh items. Although this is an expensive choice, if your true love is a nerdy gardener, I promise that if you spend a lot of money on a set for them, all of your Christmas dreams may come true (you might also find that everything in your life gets labelled).
Pencil writing on aluminum labels is another inexpensive alternative to using a jig. These are treated to make the pencil irremovable; the first year, it can be removed with an eraser, but after that, it is fixed. Once more, Alitag is a reliable source for this kind of label. Copper has a very appealing appearance and may be written on using a ballpoint pen to create a permanent record. Eventually, the copper develops a subtle verdigris. All of these labels are best suited to permanent plants, because they are just too pricey for seasonal veggies and flowers.
Unless you use labels on tomato paste tubes, that is. These were created by Alison, an inventive Black Country allotmenteer who I recently met and who seems to recycle everything. A tomato paste tube should have the top and bottom cut off, the centre divided so that it may be flattened and washed. Write on it with a ballpoint pen after cutting it into strips of the required size.
What substance is used to make plant tags?
Knowing your identification goals is the first step in determining the plant label that would function best in your garden. Do you want to color-coordinate, numerically order, or handwrite the tag? Do you require anything basic or something with a luxurious, polished appearance? The environment should also be considered; are these just for the summer or do they need to be permanent in areas where the tag will experience severe weather all year long?
National Band & Tag has a variety of plant labels available to meet your identification needs.
When you wish to color-code your plants in the garden or have labels that are clearly visible, plastic plant labels are useful. You can write on plastic plant labels with a sharpie or our suggested All-Weather Marker. Additionally, you can have the name, logo, and barcode of your business laser etched on these tags. Plastic plant labels are available in a range of sizes, so whether you have a small potted plant or a large shrub or bush, we have the label that will fit it. They are adaptable and can work for a retail garden shop or a home gardener. Depending on how harsh the weather is, plastic tags are excellent for temporary usage or for use outside for more than a year. Offers Pink, Orange, White, and Yellow options.
Write-On Tags are constructed of a thin metal (copper or aluminum) that you can personalize with a pen or other sharp implement. For writing on the tag, the 2702 series has a biodegradable cardboard backing. These tags come in handy when you need to engrave anything immediately and you want it to be strong enough to last outside.
For gardeners wishing to identify a lot of information about one plant, such as their name, species, genius, care instructions, etc., metal plant tags are useful. Although metal plant tags are available in a range of materials, we strongly advise UV Stable Black Aluminum if you require the label to endure years outdoors. For people who desire to design educational walking pathways, such as those in an arboretum or botanical garden, QR Codes can be laser engraved onto metal tags.
Depending on the size of the potted plant you’re seeking to mark, plain and treated wood pot labels are both offered in a variety of sizes. For labeling plants for sale at a garden center or nursery, wood pot labels work nicely. Wooden stakes are used for marking shrubs, rows of trees, and property parcels. Under plastic tags, they can be marked with a sharpie or our All-Weather Marker.