With the PNW drying out from last week’s extreme atmospheric river (apparently that’s a thing), spring planting is right around the corner. That means it’s time for plant markers!
If you usually plant a variety of fruit, veggies and herbs, you’re familiar with the mystery that occurs when they pop up and you can’t remember what you planted where.
Is that an onion, a leek or garlic? It’s anyone’s guess.
So I designed these mid-century modern plant markers that you can print out and stake in your garden to solve the mystery.
Note: This article contains affiliate links. See my disclosures for details.
Mid-Century Plant Markers
Materials
- PDF plant labels printed on cardstock
- Scissors
- Self-seal laminating sheets
- Stakes (wood dowel rods or plastic straws)
- Hot glue gun and sticks
Print and Cut the Plant Markers
Start by printing these retro MCM plant labels on a sturdy cardstock.
I included labels for 30 of the more common veggies, fruits and herbs…even rhubarb for my grandma. I’ll never understand why people plant rhubarb, but there you go.
The third page has blank labels, so you can fill in other plant types or specific varieties. If you’re all about planting 10 types of onions like me, the blank labels will help. If you want to type over them, I used the Oswald font.
Cut out the labels you need, leaving a little bit of white space around the shapes.
Laminate the Plant Markers
Next use laminating sheets to laminate both sides of the labels. Leave a quarter-inch border around the edges to protect them from the weather.
If you’re laminating several labels at once, you can set them on a whole laminating sheet. Or if you’re just making a few labels, you can cut smaller sections of laminate like I did in the video.
Make sure there are no specs of dust or anything on the plant markers when you seal them in.
Glue Plant Markers to Dowel Rods
Once all your labels are laminated, just glue them to the stakes so you can place them in the garden.
Wood dowel rods or bamboo skewers are a good natural garden stake option, but if the soil gets too moist the wood might get moldy. Plastic straws offer extra durability, especially in the outdoors, and they are still food-safe.
Once they dry, add them to your veggie garden as you plant seeds. No more forgetting what you planted!
Read More: Easy foods to grow in your garden
More Plant Accessories and Ideas
There are also some really cute modern plant markers on Etsy. I love these ones in acrylic.
And an H & H reader told me about this adorable MCM brand, Ragin’ Retro. They make mid-century flair you can pop into your planters, like these starbursts or mod cats.
You might also like these ideas to get your garden ready for spring. Happy planting!
Very clever Tara!! (I remember when we were visiting once and we tried to find stickers that would work that said strawberries, etc. 🙂 ) When I started reading this I thought of wooden shish-kabob sticks just like Prairie. lol) (I have used them before in helping keep my indoor plants supported.) It’s awesome that you figured this DIY on making your own to suit your garden planting. Great idea! I’m sure it will be helpful to alot of people!
Thanks, Judy! Yeah we had a hard time finding good gardening stickers. Custom works best for me since I usually have several different varieties of things like lettuce and onions, so I’m going to be using the blank labels a bunch! Can’t wait to plant some things this weekend. 🙂