How To Make Metal Tags For Your Garden

• Black permanent marker
• Washers
• Earplugs
• Steel block
• 1/2-inch metal stamp set
• Hammer
• Steel wool
• 14-gauge galvanized wire
• Wire cutters
• Needle-nose pliers
• Twine

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set the washer on the steel block. Use a permanent marker to mark the letter placement with small dots on the metal washer. Position the letters along the bottom edge of the washer (that is, the part closest to you) to ensure they read upright when hanging.
2. Don your earplugs (hearing safety first!) then choose a letter stamp and position it on the first dot. Hammer hard without moving the letter out of position for about ten strikes.
3. When the label is complete, color in the newly stamped letter with the marker and then scuff off the excess with steel wool; this will darken the letter and help it to stand out.
4. Make a stake of metal wire for ground plants by cutting a length of wire six inches longer than you want it to stand above the soil. Bend the bottom of the wire with the needle-nose pliers into a V shape; this will create stability in the soil. Curl the top of the wire around the washer into a decorative curlicue, again using the needle-nose pliers.
5. Alternatively, use garden twine to hang metal-stamped plant labels from tree branches to mark the variety of a fruit tree. This becomes especially handy when growing grafted trees with different varieties of fruit on different branches.

From Garden Made by Stephanie Rose © 2015 by Stephanie Rose. Reprinted by arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boston, MA.