20 Creative DIY Plant Labels & Markers

Looking for some inspiration for DIY plant labels? Plant markers are quick and easy to make. Try repurposing everyday items like pebbles, bamboo skewers, corks, containers, shells, cans and even broken terracotta pots. There are loads of creative ideas and I’ve rounded up 20 low cost and decorative options to inspire you to make your own DIY plant labels.

I use labels regularly even though I can identify most plants in my patch.

My husband, however … let’s just say (kindly) that he gets somewhat ‘confused’ when so many plants look similar in the garden!

This must be the explanation for why he brings in rosemary when I ask for basil (are these remotely similar??)

Plant labels are a must if you:

• are growing food (and are reliant on family members to pick your produce)!
• have UFOs (Unidentified Food Objects) in your garden.
• are learning to identify plants or save seeds.
• share an allotment.
• grow perennial root crops like ginger, turmeric or yakon and don’t want to accidentally dig them up.
• want to avoid losing your bulbs every year!

Plant Labelling Tips and Techniques

1) What do you want the plant label to look like?

• Do you prefer a decorative marker for a special plant that doubles as garden art?

• Or just something functional and cheap? No fuss + no frills!

2) Do you need a temporary or permanent solution?

• Is the label only needed for the short term? (e.g. if you are raising seeds, using indoors or just one season)

• Or do you want it to last long term? (e.g. multiple seasons, outdoors, or for a particular species in your garden)

Short Term DIY Plant Label Solutions

These include wood (eventually breaks down) and metal (e.g. can lids will rust).

Try reusing old wire coat hangers, bamboo skewers, timber offcuts & stakes, chopsticks and wooden pegs.

Long Term DIY Plant Label Solutions

These include plastic, painted or sealed surfaces, china or clay, tiles, stone, concrete, laminated labels, glass, stainless steel or galvanised items. Try repurposing plastic containers, paint stirrers, smooth rocks and bricks/pavers.

Decorative Plant Labels and Markers

Add a personal touch to your garden with some of these creative ideas (they also make practical gifts):

1. Blackboard Paint and Chalk

These plant labels are long lasting and easily changed. You have plenty of scope for getting creative with this one.

If you want a surface you can write on and can’t find a blackboard paint, I’ve used a non-toxic acrylic matte black paint. It does the same job and is much cheaper! Sample pots are only a few dollars and are great for small projects like this.

Blackboard paint pot labels – great for feature pots. There are plenty of eco-friendly paint options without the chemical ingredients in traditional products.

2. Hand Painted Rock Plant Labels

These are long lasting and there are so many creative options! Use a fine paint brush and acrylic non-toxic paint.

These cute markers are made with a little imagination & a stencil kit.

Here’s another stencil idea.

A simple stone and stencil marker.

This is a fun project for the kids too. Could keep them occupied for hours!

If you’re handy with a paint brush, pick up some pebbles at the beach and create some bright garden art.

These classy rock markers would make a great gift. Painted black with a packet of chalk, it’s a wonderfully easy DIY plant label gift idea for gardeners.

Colour co-ordinate for contrast … like these black rock herb markers against the white pebbles.

Black on white is another version to try.

3. Metal Spoon Markers

Whilst this takes a little more skill and you need a letter stamp kit, these stamped spoon plant markers are garden art in themselves! They are made using letter stamps. Check out the tutorial via Bunny Hill Blog.

Whilst these might take a little more time and effort to make, they add a decorative vintage look to your garden.

Add a whimsical touch to your veggie patch with a spoon plant marker.

See the tutorial below for how to make these decoupage vintage spoon markers.

 Recycled Spoon Garden Marker tutorial from Domestic Simplicity.

4. Decoupage a pot

Use paper, contact adhesive, magazine pictures or even the image from your seed packet.

Cut out lettering and glue to your pot.

Cheap and Cheerful DIY Plant Markers

Now for some free and low cost ideas you can make with all sorts of materials. These are all easily upcycled into plant labels.

5. Terracotta/Clay Pots and China

Sometimes pots and crockery break. Don’t despair! It may be an opportunity in disguise. I’m often upcycling broken pots in creative ways for my garden.

Add a label to the broken shards or whole plates/pots. Here are some creative ways to use them.

Made by gluing metal wire ‘stakes’ to the back. Then painted with acrylic outdoor paint & some rub on letters added & finally adhesive spray for staying power.

Simple & eco-friendly. With a marker, stencils or vinyl sticky letters just add the name of the plant on the broken pot piece & pop in the ground!

Up end a small pot & use a permanent marker to label. Easy!

6. Glass Jar + Seed Packet Plant Labels

I save seeds from my garden. However, there’s nothing worse than having an incredibly high yielding food crop but not remembering where you sourced the seed or which variety it was! Here’s a neat solution.

One of the best ways to protect your seed packets with all the info you need to remember is to slide it over a stake and cover with a glass jar – plus it’s weatherproof!

7. Cork Plant Labels 

Save wine bottle corks, old mats or off cuts from cork tiles for repurposed plant labels like these.

Doesn’t get simpler than this! Label cork and peg to the side of your pot.

Stick a labelled cork on the end of a bamboo skewer = a low-cost, eco-friendly option!

8. Tin or Plastic Lids as Plant Markers

Next time you open a can or container, save the lid. Here are some ways to reuse them to label your plants.

Made with coat hanger wire, lids, permanent marker and some decorative beads.

The letters on this label are stamped and coloured with permanent marker, then attached to a fork ‘stake’.

Make these stake markers by reusing lids and gluing images from your seed catalogue.

9. Corflute

This is the material real estate signs are made from. After use, the signs can be recycled into weatherproof plant markers. These are some I made with the kids at school.

We stapled the corflute to a timber stake and the students had great fun decorating it with sticky coloured contact, markers and buttons.

Here we cut out the letters from sheets of contact and hot glued buttons and chenille sticks to decorate with flowers.

10. Print Plant Labels and Cover with Contact

Design your own labels on the computer, print off and cover in clear contact. Make sure it’s sealed well around the edges so the plant marker is waterproof.

These are a fun waterproof label for kids to help design and cut out. Secure to a peg ‘stake’!

11. Ceramic Tile Plant Labels

Use up old tiles to make weatherproof markers. Most tiling shops have a throw away bin with odds and ends. Or you may have some leftover from a renovation porject. Paint or stencil with plant names and pictures.

Painted sign on a ceramic tile.

12. Seed Packets and Popsicle Sticks

These plant markers provide you with all the plant information you need and are waterproof.

Seed packets covered in contact and glued onto paddlepop sticks

13. Popsicle Stick Stencilled Plant Markers

Cute and colourful, this is a fun project for school gardens and children to take ownership of their patch.

Great project for kids to make for their container garden or veggie patch using paint and stencil lettering.

14. Wooden Peg Markers

Pegs are so convenient to use and cheap. They are pegged easily onto seed raising trays and seedling pots.

Label pegs with permanent marker and decorate with old nailpolish.

15. Adhesive Aluminium Duct Tape

These labels are quick and easy to make. They may also be useful to ward off birds from eating your fruit.

To make these neat little markers, attach adhesive aluminium duct tape to a plastic knife ‘stake’ and engrave the plant name backwards on the reverse of the label with a pen. Then it will read correctly from the front!

16. Plastic Plant Labels

Recycle whatever materials you have access to. Milk and juice bottles or just about any plastic container with straight sides can be cut and used for labels. You can also use ice cream lids or even old plastic picnic cutlery. Just poke in the soil. Follow my tutorial to make your own labels from plastic bottles plus other money saving garden supplies.

I make labels by cutting the sides out of milk bottles and cutting a point in the end.

You can just as easily make your own tag by cutting strips from a plastic icecream lid; punching a hole and using a twist tie.

A simple painted plastic knife marker – easy way to repurpose picnic or party cutlery and save from landfill

17. Painted Wood Garden Signs

Reuse timber off cuts and use up leftover external paint to fashion some simple plant labels.

Hand painted timber sign and stake

Simple painted timber sign

How cute are these colourful wood markers for a family or kids veggie patch?

Wooden plant markers made with paint stirring sticks – brilliant!

18. Wooden Spoon Plant Markers

If your wooden spoons have seen better days or the handle breaks, find a new use outdoors as a plant label.

Labelled with a permanent marker – I ‘plant’ my broken wooden spoons in the garden so they are still useful

19. Twig and Pruned Branch Labels

Prune some straight twigs or thin branches. Use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to slice a flat surface. As the wood will decompose in the weather, use it as a temporary label.

Use a fine permanent marker on your twig label.

20. Sea Shell Labels

Save your shells and add a little creative flair. Cover with a clear gloss if you wish.

Decorative shell labels – glue onto a bamboo skewer or stick if you prefer

For identifying plants that I want to save seed from, I use a bamboo stake right next to the plant stalk. I tie my reusable label with string to the stake for easy identification.

Home Made ‘Save for Seed’ Labels – design your own on the computer, print off & laminate.

These last well outdoors when laminated.

Tips for DIY Plant Labels

All surface solution – One of the best tips I can share from personal experience is to use Chinagraph, wax or grease pencils. This is a little known secret in the horticulture and design industries. These wax pencils can be used on just about any surface including plastic, glass, stone and metal and come in a variety of colours. The brand I use is called Lumocolor.

I’ve found yellow and white are easily visible on black surfaces. Black or blue work well on pale coloured pots and terracotta. They’re cheap (especially if you buy from a wholesale art supplies store – cost me A$2 rather than the garden nursery – around A$4!) and they last a very long time, so are great value.

They work well on seed raising trays and flats and this is important because they are always wet. The other advantage is you can remove the label by rubbing with paper towel when you want to change it.

Permanent Marking.  I’ve tried using permanent markers outdoors but how long they last depends on your climate. Whilst they work well in dry situations (under cover or short term), it can be a struggle to stop them fading in strong sun or wet weather. Try coating with a clear spray varnish or a coat of clear nail varnish to seal the label.

Snap It. Keep a digital photo record of your plant labels that come with plants you buy. Store them on your computer or print off and laminate for a permanent weatherproof plant label that won’t fade. A cheaper alternative is to buy a roll of sticky clear contact paper that you use to cover books with. “Laminate” your plant labels both sides – just leave a good seal around the edges when cutting to size.

DIY Printable Plant Label Templates

Printable Herb labels

DIY Herb Labels

I hope these ideas helped inspire you with some cheap and decorative solutions for DIY plant labels. More plant marker inspiration in DIY Repurposed Garden Projects.  What’s your favourite plant label idea?

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© Copyright Anne Gibson, The Micro Gardener 2016. https://themicrogardener.com. All rights reserved.