I found this really cute idea on face book, the kids can help and it will be fun for the whole family.
© Garden Therapy 2008-2013.

Painted Stone Vegetable Garden Markers

Vegetable Garden Marke

posted by GUEST JULY 19,2013 tags CRAFTS, GUEST, KIDS, MARKERS, PAINT,VEGETABLE GARDENING EDIThese adorable vegetable garden markers were made by my friend, Kristin aka Delta Gardener. Kristin is a volunteer Master Gardener and works tirelessly with the Ladner Community Garden to coordinate the children’s garden. That plus maintaining her large home garden and writing about it all on her blog, That Bloomin’ Garden, I do not know where she finds the time. Thankfully she does and is here today to share a DIY on making plain old rocks into super cute plant markers!

How to Make Painted Vegetable Plant Markers out of Stones

Painted Stone Vegetable Garden Markers

Are you tired of plant tags that wear out over the season? There is nothing worse than checking on what is growing in the vegetable garden to find that either the tag is illegible or even worse missing. I had to figure out a new and creative way to make plant tags this year. A friend approached me about the idea of painted rocks as plant markers. I love colour in the garden so I decided to make them. Now this was my first time painting rocks so here goes.

When you are choosing rocks for this project, the smoother they are the better. It just makes it easier to get a smooth finish using paints. You can use found rocks or buy them at your garden center.

So what do you need to get started? I like to work with acrylic paints and have an assortment of colours. You will also need a fine tipped paint brush for some of the more intricate work such as the lettering and an assortment of thicker brushes for the larger areas. You could also buy a paint pen but you definitely have to practice first. I opted out and used a paint brush as I had more control.

To begin my project I decided to make a plant marker for my peas. I started by painting the rock a base colour of green all over. I let it dry and applied a second coat.The next step was to draw out a design of how I wanted the rock to look. I used pencil first and then went over it with a fine tip permanent marker.

Painted Stone Vegetable Markers Step (1)

Using a darker green I painted the peas.

Painted Stone Vegetable Markers Step (2)

I added some brown colour to one side of the rock and painted the white lettering of the word “peas” next. Now painting lettering is definitely a talent learned by practicing. This was my first go at it and it wasn’t easy.

Painted Stone Vegetable Markers Step (3)

The good thing is I used a permanent marker to outline the letters and if you have any imperfections the marker will cover them up.

Painted Stone Vegetable Markers Step (4)

I gave each area two coats of paint and then clear coated it with DuraClear gloss varnish. I purchase all my paints and varnish at the dollar store so the cost is very inexpensive to make these cute plant markers.

Painted Stone Vegetable Markers Step (5)

As you can see, one painted vegetable rock led to another until I completed a collection of the most standard vegetables grown. So if you see me eyeing up rocks as I go for a walk, you now know why. This is a fun project to do with your children on a rainy day.

Painted Stone Vegetable Markers Step (6)

The hardest part is waiting for the paint to dry. It usually takes a couple of days to complete a marker but you can certainly do a few at a time. That way you always have one to work on.

Rocks Painted as Vegetable Plant Markers

I love how the plant markers turned out, don’t you?

About Garden Therapy

Hi I’m Stephanie, the creator of Garden Therapy, where you will find hundreds of garden and food related projects you can really dig in to.

I believe that anyone can feel immediate benefits from spending a short while outdoors, digging in the earth and connecting with all that gardening brings so each week a new projects, crafts, and recipes will be posted. Most are directly related togardening although some may stretch into other areas like the Natural Skincare Series of tutorials on making 100% natural bath and body products. Recipes are inspired by food grown or found through gardening adventures. Lots of canning and preserving goes on here and there are even some free printable labels you can use to dress up your jammy creations. Plus there are plenty of weekend projects that will beautify your garden and home.

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