Every Summer, I regret that decision. Fortunately, every Spring I also make it a little easier on myself by adding to my stash of re-usable plant markers. It’s not a perfect system (I already forgot the names of the specific varieties of corn, beans, and squash that I planted in my Three Sisters garden plot on Saturday…), but when I have the plant markers on hand I do use them, and every year I make a few more plant markers from the rocks and shells I’ve collected over the past year. This year’s innovation? Ground cherry and strawberry! The strawberry markers will hopefully remind me over the winter that I do, indeed, have them so I shouldn’t plan to put chard there come Spring, and I am SO excited that I happened upon a local nursery selling ground cherry starts. It’s a self-seeding annual that I grew years ago on a former property, and that gives an absolutely delicious fruit that my kids still wax nostalgic over, but for some reason hardly anybody seems to know about it and even fewer nurseries actually stock it. Here’s hoping that my brand-new ground cherry seedling is blissful about its new home in my garden! Its location will be well-protected by its equally brand-new plant marker, at least. Making these plant markers is a ton of fun, and it makes for a fun family activity, as well. Here’s how to start collecting your own stash of reusable, natural markers!
Materials
To complete this project, you will need:
likely-looking rocks and shells. I prefer smooth river rocks that are about the size of my fist, and big oyster or clam shells. Collect all of these sustainably, of course, and never from protected areas! primer (optional). You can paint directly onto rocks and shells without priming them first, but coating them first with a paint+primer combo gives you a nice background to work on, and can make your colors look more saturated. paints. For brush-on paint, I prefer artist’s acrylics for their superior coverage and saturation over craft acrylics. Paint pens are my favorite for detail work and writing. sealant (optional). These painted rocks and shells will last at least one summer without the addition of sealant, but if you want to use them over multiple years, coating them with a water-based sealant will make that happen.
Step 1: Wash and prep the rocks and shells.
It feels a little contradictory since they’re natural materials destined for a life outdoors, but for the best paint adhesion, you should wash the rocks and shells first. If you’re one of those lucky ducks who has a dishwasher, 1) do you recommend that I buy one, and 2), you can toss the rocks and shells inside and let the dishwasher take care of them. But, of course, you can also wash them by hand! Leave enough time for the items to dry completely before you paint them.
Step 2: Paint the rocks and shells.
This is such a fun family activity! It’s most charming when done outdoors at a picnic table, but one of my adult kids is living her summer as if she’s striving to get as little Vitamin D as possible, so my family painted this year’s round of plant markers inside, sigh. You can paint your plant marker decorations on the inside or outside of your shells, and you can either paint them directly onto the rocks, or first paint a background color, let it dry, then paint your embellishment on top. It doesn’t take long for that background color to dry, so we were able to entirely paint those chard and spinach markers, for instance, all in the same session.
Step 3 (Optional): Seal the plant markers.
You don’t need to seal the plant markers just for aesthetic purposes, but I do like how the unsealed markers, above, got so shiny after I sealed them, below: Shiny things are always 25% prettier than non-shiny things! Fair warning, though, that the inside of that clam shell on the top row did significantly change color due solely to the application of the clear sealant. I don’t love the new look, but it still shows me where my strawberry plants are, so it’s fine. To use your new markers, simply set them next to your starts or where you planted your seeds! I like how easily moveable these markers are, more so than the spoon markers that I also use, because I’m constantly adjusting them as a particular plant takes up an ever larger footprint over the course of the season. I also like that they very visibly mark my perennials in the off-season. I overcrowd my garden enough every year without forgetting the existence of my strawberries!
