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Showing posts with label Plant Labels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plant Labels. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Recycled Herb Planter

BY SKEETER
 The Saint and I purchased some stones (via pallet) some time ago. I have had the pallet hanging around in my GEORGIA GARDENS just waiting for me to create something out of it. Landscaping fabric, scissors and staple gun to the rescue.
 I stapled the landscaping fabric securely to the bottom of the pallet. Then cut off the excess fabric.
 Now I have a planter ready for fresh composted dirt. 
 I found wooden spoons at the Thrift store for a mere one dollar. I painted them with my outside paints.
 Two thick coats of paint and once dry, we are ready for the next step.
 Turning the spoons into Garden Tags!
 Seeds have been sprinkled and tags put into place. I even added Cat Nip for my neighbors outside kitties. Hope they enjoy a nibble.

And now I await the growth of Herbs in my RECYCLED HERB PLANTER, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Plant Labels (again)

BY SKEETER
 What does this gardener do when stuck inside during Winter Months? Make cookies?
 No, I make something for my GEORGIA GARDEN!
 Tina talked about making these Plant Labels a while back. CLICK HERE to see the process. I gave it a go some time ago and was not too happy with my results. I was not so great at rolling out the clay to make a nice shape. I found a cookie cutter and decided to give it a second try.
 It was not so practical to stain the labels in the sunroom of my house. But with lots of rain and cold temps, it worked for me with plastic below for drips.
A crafter must do what a crafter must do right? 
I can hardly wait to get these PLANT LABELS, in the Garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
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Friday, February 17, 2012

New Plant Labels and an Update on Old Plant Labels

DSCN0965
It has been nearly two years since I posted about making plant labels for Tiger Gardens and I find I am in need of many more plant labels. As I am wont to do I tend to evaluate things I try in the garden before I either add to the mix or recommend my experiments to others. I am pleased to say the sculpey labels I made in that post two years ago have held up absolutely wonderfully so I have decided to make more for my shrubs in my gardens.
DSCN0939
The process was quite simple and for less than $12 for materials I now have 20 new labels to hang on my shrubs and small trees in the garden. The first picture in this post is showing how the new labels look in situ. The above picture shows one of my labels I made nearly two years ago. All of those labels have held up very well. The only sign of wear on them is the fact that the stain and varnish have worn off from the label and mildew has set in. While the mildew affects their looks it does not affect the functionality of the labels. As you can see each one is still easily read and clearly serve a function in my garden--that is to identify the shrub or tree.
DSCN0938
The above picture shows my latest batch of plant labels. I purchased two large blocks of Sculpey clay at our local big box store. I already had the stamper so just reused it. For further instructions you are welcomed to look back at the initial post on plant labels. I found that I had a GREAT need for labels identifying viburnums. Viburnums are a very versatile shrub and the types available for gardeners is sometimes mind boggling. A key facet of growing viburnums is to have a cross pollinator of the same specific epithet. Some viburnums are self pollinating but in my gardens I find viburnums don't produce many berries without a pollinator so I have tried very hard to find pollinators for my viburnums. For example I have a couple of Viburnum nudum viburnums. One is the cultivar 'Count Pulaski' and the other is the cultivar 'Winterthur'. I believe these two viburnums will pollinate one another (I hope) so I have planted them fairly close together. To help me keep my pollinators and groups of viburnums in order and to remind me of what might work and not work I made plant labels to identify all of viburnums. I think the labels will be a tremendous help in the garden.
DSCN0949
As far as labeling perennials and bulbs I have plans to make some of my own metal plant labels using the same stamp kit I purchased for the Sculpey plant labels. I just haven't gotten around to it though. Instead, I researched some plant labels online and found that these tall heavy duty rose pin labels work the best for me. I purchased mine from a company online that I found had the best prices. I used a paint pen marker to write the name of the plant on the label. I really do like these labels but the problem with labeling perennials is that the labels have to be in the ground. When labels are in the ground they are very likely to get bounced around, stepped on, or moved. I find that I have to be careful around these labels but that would be a problem with any labels you use for perennials. Labels are a very good tool for gardeners. I am very good at remembering most of my plants but I do find that as time goes on I tend to forget plant names....


in the garden....

How do you label your plants?

Everyone enjoy your long weekend and President's Day! In this year of elections it is a good thing we get a day off to recuperate from all the campaigns.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
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Friday, March 26, 2010

Making Plant Labels for Tiger Gardens

From In the Garden
I think it was last year or so that there was a meme about plant labels. Ever since then I've been wracking my brain on how I could make some really nice plant labels for my garden-on the cheap. The requirements for my labels were that they were easy to read, long lasting, inexpensive and functional. I think I've got it figured out.

Long lasting means no wood can be used so I reasoned metal would be best. I then had to think of how to mark the names on the metal. Writing with a permanent marker, paint pen, or etching was not going to work because in my experience the markings just don't last. I figured stamping the plant names into metal labels would be best. I found a perfect stamp kit at Harbor Freight Tools for under $10. This is a premium stamp kit, quite heavy and made to last. I chose 1/4" because I thought it would be the easiest to read while not taking up too much room with large letters.

The next step was to find the metal and make the metal plant tags-oops wait. That post will come another day because as of right now I have only made an alternative type plant label-those made from Sculpey clay. I learned of Sculpey from my sister. I purchased a good sized block of sculpey for about $6. I first cut the block into 15 equal pieces and kneaded each piece into a ball. I then used a full coke can to roll out the balls into oval shapes. I next took my stamp kit and imprinted the names of some of my choice trees and shrubs (more to go-this is only a start). I baked the clay for 15 minutes at 200 degrees then let them cool down. My last step was to stain my pieces. Staining brings out the imprinted plant names. I used Minwax (love this stuff!) but you can use watered down patio paints too. The main goal of staining and sealing the clay is to protect the label and to bring out the plant name. Adding some stainless steel wire to each label (be sure to punch a hole in them before you bake) finished off these plant labels. They have all been hung on the appropriate trees and are holding up quite well so far. It is a relief for me to know which tree is which at a glance.

These 15 labels costed me about $7 (clay $6, wire $1). I do not include the stamp set in the cost because that will be reused again and again. So for about .50 cents per label I have a long lasting plant label that is specially designed for my garden and my needs....
in the garden....



Today is Skeeter's Birthday so here is to a very
Happy Birthday Skeeter!



Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden
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