What did I plant there?
I’ve seen gardeners devise some pretty creative plant markers. Here are some:
- Strips cut from used bleach or milk jugs, cat-litter containers, and disposable plastic food tubs.
- Wooden craft sticks.
- Handles of plastic knives.
- Rocks placed in the garden.
- Slats of mini-blinds. (Use aluminum ones, because the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that lead may be present in imported vinyl blinds.)(An aside: You can make raised beds using aluminum flashing, which is durable and cheap.)
- A fun activity to do with children: Save lids from juice concentrate cans, punch a hole in the lid, add plant names with a permanent marker or blade, and hang the tag on a clothes hanger bent into the shape of a shepherd’s hook.
- To mimic the look of expensive store-bought tags, I’ve fashioned permanent plant stakes from pieces of copper flashing and metal clothes hangers. The surface of copper flashing is malleable; a pen or pencil will make an indelible impression. Wrap copper flashing around wooden craft sticks to create in-ground markers.