I have always wanted cool plant markers for my garden, as I mentioned in the post I did a few months ago with the list of creative DIY garden plant markers I found around the web. This year, inspired by the creativity of others, I settled on making beaded plant markers that would look cool in the garden AND keep the kids busy for a while. They turned out great, so I figured I’d share them with you!
To make these, all you need is wire, some beads of your choosing, and wire pliers. Almost any wire can be used, but we decided on some green floral wire we found at the craft store. We used two different types of wire – 18 gauge wire stems for the stakes and 22 gauge wire that comes on a roll for the beads. We thought it would be interesting to let the beaded part of the markers hang freely as opposed to stringing the beads directly onto the wire stems.
I found a container of assorted plastic beads at the store that included letter beads. Perfect! In addition to those, I let the kids each pick out a pack of beads they liked so they could add their own individual touch to their markers. Oh, and here’s a tip – chip and dip trays happen to work awesomely for holding the beads and keeping the kids from flinging them all over the place as they work. ?
I gave each of the kids their own list of plant names, then they went to work finding the letters and adding other beads they liked. For the bead string, I cut the 22 gauge wire into pieces about 5 inches long and used the pliers to wrap one end into a little spiral to keep the beads from falling off as the kids were stringing them.
To make the stakes, I twisted two pieces of the floral stems together, then used the pliers to put a bend in them and twist a circle at the end to hang the smaller wire from. It wasn’t really necessary to use two pieces of wire stem for these because the wires are pretty strong, but I like how they look twisted together. Also, we live in a windy area so I figured a little reinforcement couldn’t hurt.
After the kids had their plant names spelled out on the smaller wire, I wrapped the top end a few times around the circle in the floral stems. That’s it! Done! We went out and stuck them in the ground in their appropriate places. They’re so pretty, and I love walking through the garden and seeing each kids’ different personality reflected in their creations!
This was a fun, inexpensive project that the kids loved making and they look fantastic in the garden. We finished them in May, so they’ve had a couple months now to sit through the heat, wind, and occasional thunderstorms. They look amazing!
[…] Cool and eye catchy plant markers can make your container garden look more attractive. One of a kind of tutorial is available here! […]