Need to identify plants in your garden but don’t want to use those little plastic garden markers? Get creative by repurposing old, broken pots to use as plant markers. You can even give the illusion that the plants are growing right out of the pots with the right angle and design.
Edit Steps
Deciding Where the Markers are Needed
- Identify an area in your garden where pot plant markers will be effective. This will help you to gain an idea of how many markers to make. Typically you’ll need a bit of space so you can surround the planted greenery with the pot, however you could trim a potted plant in a smaller garden using a smaller size.
- Measure the area around the specific plant. A tape measure is handy but even eyeballing the area to determine the pot size will work well too.
Making the Plant Markers
- Choose a pot piece for each specific plant. Since each plant may take up a different amount of space, you'll want to customize the marker for each plant’s size.
- Write the plant name around the top of the pot piece. Make sure it's written clearly so that you can read the name.
- Consider using a stencil to create uniformity. This takes more effort but might be best for a showpiece area of your garden, such as a herb garden or a special vegetable plot.
- Allow time for the writing on the pot piece to dry before adding it to the plant area.
Positioning the Plant Marker
- Embed the pot around or near the plant. Try a few positions before deciding where it sits best (don’t embed the pot deeply into the soil until you are sure you like the location). Done!
Edit Tips
- Add flourishes such as leaves or love hearts to the pot marker for interest.
- Line your garden area with broken pot pieces instead of using a traditional border.
Edit Things You'll Need
- Pieces of old terracotta or ceramic/ceramic-glazed pots to use as markers; the top portion of the pot will provide you with the right effect, however examine other pieces to see if they might work too
- A permanent magic marker, paint pen or paint that won’t wash off in the elements
- If you plan to mark your plants using paint, use or use a fine-tipped paintbrush
