Making child friendly plant labels

 

I'm incredibly shallow when it comes to garden produce.  As excited as I am about the crop itself, my real concern is how my veg garden actually looks.

Last year I spent ages creating raised beds and surrounding them with clipped box hedging.  This year I'm becoming obsessed with plant labels.

I've seen some beautiful carved wooden labels and even slate and metal name tags, but almost all of these would require me to take out a second mortgage.  Then I went to Wilkinsons.

For those not au fait with this store, its the kind of place where you can buy 200 clothes pegs for 50p or 10 sticks of glue for under a pound.  Obviously we're not talking heirloom quality goods here, but if you ever get stuck in the hell of putting together 25 party bags for less than a tenner, this is the place for you.

But I digress...  What Wilkos does offer is 10" wooden spoons for the princely sum of 23p each. These are the perfect size for tactile, legible and aesthetically-pleasing plant labels.  All I needed for writing was a soldering iron and thankfully my neighbour is a man who very possibly owns every tool every invented and is delighted to share his collection.

I'm pretty pleased with how the finished labels look and they're very easy for Ava to read, but I'm aware that her younger brother isn't able to decipher words yet.  As I also needed to create some labels for the veg-bed at his pre-school, I've been thinking of another labelling system.

This afternoon inspiration struck.  The children were playing with their huge collection of plastic food, amassed over the past few years.  What could be better.  They're weather resistant, easy to recognise and lying around all over my house.  I simply put a slit in the bottom and pushed the appropriate vegetables on a kebab skewer.  Only problem is, I've searched the house high and low but I can't find the plastic lettuce leaf anywhere.  Having said that, if we want to grow grapes, bananas or chicken legs, I'm very well set up...

Comments

[JamesA-S]

Such profligate use of culinary utensils!
Have you read about Amanda's Star Wars plant labels? cunning use of that stuff you cook in the oven and it becomes small and solid.
Link here: http://www.hortmag.com//article/?p_ArticleId=6860

[Dawn Isaac]

Thank you James - I now know what shrinky dinkies are! Not sure I dare start on these - I have a tendency to become distracted and I'm more than likely to use flapjacks as plant labels and serve these up with afternoon tea. Quite like the idea of adding a movie-theme to my planting plans though...

[Deb]

Oh I've seen wooden spoons as plant markers before. Don't have access to a soldering iron though. Love the plastic ones, they look cool (trouble is mine would just run off with them).

Have been thinking of making some plant markers for my plot similar to ones I had bought but rather fear I am too lazy (unlike you!).

Debx

[Dawn Isaac]

Deb, remember I read your blog, lazy is not an adjective that springs to mind!

Cannot recommend soldering irons enough. Best of all, you get the smell of saunas when using them on wood!

[Karen - An Artist's Garden]

These wooden spoon plant labels are brilliant - and I think they look really nice too. Great idea
K

[Dawn Isaac]

Thanks Karen - I was having a 'Blue Peter' moment!

[Jennifer]

Love the spoons - think I'll try that!