Make Your Own Garden Markers

These handcrafted garden markers are not your ordinary garden-variety markers. They can be customized to any plant you may have growing in your garden.

I used twigs that I collected from my local park. If you don't have access to good twigs, you can usually purchase them at home-decor or garden shops. To add descriptive words, I used a wood-burning tool with a fine-point tip. You could also use a thin-point permanent marker to label them. I added extra embellishment by wrapping them with copper wire and beads. Over time the copper will turn a beautiful green. I like to use glass beads because they catch the light and add a little sparkle to your yard.

Once your markers are finished, all you need to do is stick them into your pots or garden beds. If you have a green thumb in the family or among your friends, a set of custom garden markers makes a great gift.

Materials:
Twigs or branches, purchased at a home-decor store or found
Coping saw
Utility knife
Pencil
Wood-burning tool
Wood-burning tip -- fine point
Decorative wood-branding tips
22 gauge cooper wire
Beads
Jewelry wire cutters

1. Use a coping saw to cut branches in 1-foot lengths.

2. Approximately 7 inches from the end of each branch, using a utility knife, whittle layers from the branches. Continue whittling until there is a flat slant of planed wood exposed along 7 inches of each branch wide enough to fit lettering.

3. Write the name of the plant vertically on the exposed wood, leaving some space at the top and bottom for decorative branding. Use the wood-burning tool and a fine tip to burn the letters into the wood.

4. Let the wood-burning tool cool completely. Change the tip to a decorative branding tip and reheat the tool. Brand the wood above and below the lettering.

5. Wrap copper wire three times around the top of the branches, above the lettering. Add a small loop at the end of the wire to prevent sharp ends. Add beads. Continue wrapping, being careful to place the wire between the letters, to keep the letters legible. Add more beads and wrap the wire three times at the bottom of the twig. Snip off excess wire. Add a small loop to prevent sharp ends.