Plant labels?

I hate those plain white plant tags that come with plants when you buy them, and was considering making some of my own.
Does anyone have any novel ideas for making groovy plant labels?

Here is a good link on previous discussion on this topic.

http://davesgarden.com/showthread/gardentalk/1600.html

I solved the problem by not using plant markers!
I simply make a diagaram of my garden on a sheet of paper.
Put numbers where each plant is....on the back of the paper I write the numbers and corresponding plant names. Keep it on a clipboard in my storage building.....never fades in the sun and always handy for reference.

I have the diagram, but I also use strips of old window blinds cut up into small sections. On these I write a number with a Sharpee permanent market. The number corresponds to a unique number in my journal that identifies the plant. I place the strip in the ground, but slanted down so the RID is on the underside and out of the sun - hopefully it won't fade! It's worked so far.

Dave

I was just going to suggest this Dave when I saw your post. Old vinyl blinds do indeed make great plant labels.

Are you into crafts? I am making markers using Shrink=it. I just trace a picture of a fairy or bird or butterfly or...on and color it with markers. poke holes top and bottom, write in the name of the plant and bake to shrink. They can be made for anything and a piece if coathanger wire put through the holes sticks into the soil and holds up nicely.

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I like scrap pieces of vinyl siding cut into the specific size required . I find unless it is an outdoor plastic the UV RAYS break it down too quickly and they snap . Rock On!!

I use the mini blinds as markers indoors, with pencil writing. For outdoors, I've written/painted on smooth rocks (got the idea from those pet rocks years ago) and it looks very natural, unlike a hundred pieces of plastic sticking out of the ground.
Trish

Last year I bought a huge box of wooden popsickle sticks at the craft store and mark them with an indelible paint pen (saw one of the garden centers doing this) So far it seems to be working well-and they're very inexpensive (I got about 1000 for $5)Seem to be holding up much better than the plastic ones which seem to break apart and blow away during the winter (come spring I always lost track of what everything was since I had no markers left!)

I like the rock idea that Trish mentioned, I think I will try it. Thanks for the great tip!

Then there is flat pieces of copper. It can be scored with any sharp tool and the name of the plant will never wear out.

Well, I use plastic and pencil but the name still disappears in the end.

What I really want is one of those things I used to play with at the seaside. It was a huge iron machine with a big dial with all the letters of the alphabet on the top and a huge pointer like the hand on a clock. You put your penny in the slot and moved the pointer to the letter (you needed two hands to move it) and pulled the lever right down, and you ended up with a metal label with the letters embossed on it. Now I need plant labels it would be ideal.

I bought one of those little wheels that punches letters into plastic strips and started to punch in all my plants. Then we were moving so didn't do anything about these 'prepared' strips. But the idea was to then stick them onto another surface and pop into the soil!!!

I cut up sour cream/yougert/similar containers top to bottom in about 3/4 wide strips. Make on the inside with an
estabrook sharpie marker.


Byron

Popsickle sticks and permanent marker, in assorted colors. And I also update a diagram in my personal gardening journal

I use the flat-sided chopsticks. They are coated with some sealer and so far have lasted 2 years.

Rather than using the Sharpies, which will fade eventually, I am using a paint pen this year. I am sure this will hold up very well on either the blind slats,or on regular metal markers.

I bought a package of paint pens @ staples. They were pricey but they have 6 or 8 colors. They're nice to mark regular plant labels but they'd also be easy to use for making decorative labels with the different colors. I was thinking of using bricks and making a flowery design around each plant name. The brick could be sunk into the ground so just the flat surface is visible. You could write extra info like where you got the plant or the height & color on the backside of the brick.

I finally got tired of labels that fade away... and have started making my own. I bought a roll of tooling copper from a craft store (36 gauge) and cut it into strips wider that I needed/wanted by 1/4 inch all around. Then I folded it over 1/8 inch all around, compressed it fully, punched a hole, and either made a tie of twisted copper wire, or affixed it to a metal wire stake. It is a bit tedious to mark hard enough with a ball point pen to make a deep impression, but I feel secure that I now have markers that will withstand Time, and The Elements! (And, it has actually become a cottage industry.). I am now looking at buying a set of metal type fonts, the old-fashioned kind used by typesetters years ago, and using my press to make more legible markers. (My handwriting is not the best.) I expect, that unless affixed with a dis-similiar metal, these will take on a lovely verdigris finish over time and last as long as I need. Affixed with a dis-similiar metal, something akin to galvanic action will take place, where one metal 'plates' onto the other. If the copper is the softer, it may eat away the punched hole and fall off the stake. They certainly should hold up better than vinyl or popsicle sticks, no matter what.
-darius