spoon plant markers 5.18.2017

I don’t like the white plastic plant markers that usually come with plants. I’ve also tried making my own plant markers out of old window blinds. Or wood popsicle sticks. They fade and break over time, and they’re not aesthetically pleasing to my eye. I usually plant the plant in the ground and save the identification marker in a pile of plant markers in the garage. I also go back and forth on putting a name to things… birds, trees, leaves, oceans… sometimes I don’t give a damn and other times I want to know what it is I’m looking at – I want to name it. It’s a human trait, I suppose – naming things. Does putting a name to things makes those things OURS?

Philosophy aside, I read about DIY plant markers, and a few days later found 4 silver spoons at a garage sale, so thought I’d give it a try. I ordered an inexpensive stamp set online, and my sweetheart gave me a ball-peen hammer for a Mothers Day gift (dontcha love the name of that hammer? 😉 It makes me laugh.) Here’s a pic of a spoon, already flattened, with the stamps and hammer.

After I pounded the spoon flat, I stamped in the plant name. Next, I rubbed a black permanent marker over the name, hard enough so the marker reached the indented letters. Then I used a paper towel to wipe away the excess marker. The black really makes the name stand out, as you can see in the next photos.

And then I stuck them in the ground next to the appropriate plants!

These won’t fade or break. And they’re MUCH more lovely to look at compared to a typical plant identification marker! My eyes and brain like them. Now, everyone, please send me all your silver spoons!