How to Make Easy DIY Garden Markers

Looking for how to make easy DIY garden markers? Look no further! This blog post maps out exactly how to make super cute, easy, and inexpensive garden markers for your garden.

Spring is just around the corner which means it is time to get down and dirty in the garden. To tell you the truth, this is my first attempt at growing a garden. In July 2020, after living in a skoolie for over 2 years, my husband and I purchased a 5-acre farm in need of some TLC, which included a greenhouse and a fenced-in garden. I’ve never gardened before, but why not learn now?

I’ve been scouring Pinterest and YouTube trying to learn everything about gardening over the past few weeks, and boy is there a lot to learn! In all my research, I learned that I should be germinating seeds in cells now (and even earlier) so they are ready to plant in the ground in a few weeks. After figuring out which hardiness zone I live in (and what a hardiness zone is), I decided on what plants I wanted to grow and mapped out a timeline of when to start germinating the seeds in my greenhouse and when to plant them outside.

I took a trip to Home Depot with Kristen and picked up seed packets for my list of veggies and fruit I planned on growing. After picking out 15 types of seeds, I quickly realized I am going to need garden markers if I want to have any kind of idea of what is growing and where. With this being my first garden, and also my trial-and-error garden as I learn, I did not want to invest a lot of time or money into garden markers. I quickly scanned my memory of my craft supplies and came up with these easy DIY garden markers.

How to Make Easy DIY Garden Markers

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You Will Need

Directions

1. Sticker

First off, you will need to make a list of all of the garden markers you need to make. Using that list, start laying your stickers to spell out the name of your plants, one name per stick. Start your stickers near the top of the stick so there is room to spell out the name, but also room to stick the end of the garden marker into the dirt. Make sure to press down your stickers super hard to make sure none of the edges are lifted. I found that if you leave the stickers on the wood for an hour or two, they make a more crisp-looking end product.

^{Spell out the name of one plant per craft stick with your stickers.}

2. Spray Paint

Once all of your sticks have been stickered, it’s time to spray paint! Outside, lay out all of your sticks next to each other, sticker-side down on a paper bag, plastic, or cardboard (something to keep the garden markers off of the ground and that you don’t care about getting paint on). Spray a light layer of paint on all the sticks from 6-8 inches away. Let them dry for a few minutes (they will dry super fast), then spray again. If needed, spray a 3rd coat or until they are evenly painted. Let the paint dry for 10-15 minutes, or until dry to the touch.

After they are completely dry, flip them over, sticker-side up and repeat the spraying and drying process.

3. Peel off the Stickers

Once your garden markers are dry, peel off the stickers. It is important to peel the stickers off at this point (before sealing) because you will want to seal the exposed wood that was under the stickers.

4. Seal

Now that you have beautiful, easy DIY garden markers, you will need to seal them so they are protected from the elements while they do their job in your garden. Using your spray sealant, paint multiple coats on each side, drying between each coat.

That’s it! I love the way mine turned out and one of the best parts is how inexpensive they were to make. I spent $14.25 on all my supplies and also have enough supplies left over to make many more garden markers for if/when I plant new plants. If you make these for your garden, tag us on social media so that we can see your results! Happy crafting & gardening!

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Tips

If you can’t find large craft sticks, you can also use grade stakes, paint sticks, or wood shims. You might even have some of these lying around your house!
Make sure to pick letter stickers that are on the thicker, bolder side. Also, make sure that they are completely cut out. For example, check that the Bs in your sticker pack have the round parts cut out and it is not one solid shape (unless that is your desired look).
If you can find foam letter stickers, use them! It makes peeling the stickers off at the end a lot easier.
If you are careful, you can re-use your letter stickers by sticking them back onto their sticker sheet for storage. They will be spray-painted on the top, but that doesn’t matter if you plan to reuse them to make more garden markers.
You can pick just about any color of spray paint you want, but if you are using light-colored wood like popsicle/craft sticks, you will want to pick a darker spray to give contrast to your letters.
Double-check that the sealant you pick is suitable for the outdoors. You want your garden markers to last!