How to make herb markers with wine corks

Did you know you can create herb and garden markers with used wine corks? I didn't, until I saw a photo in Pinterest which inspired me to create my own for my potted herb garden. It is easy, fun and did not cost me a cent-- except for my time which was spent wisely. All the materials I needed were found in my kitchen.

The wine corks were from my collection from visits to wineries and celebrations through the years. Some of these were set aside for future crafts in hopes that someday I would have time to create a corkboard or trivets for my home. But these projects never panned out because these take time, energy and money. The wine cork herb and garden marker project is the first one that I had the time and inclination to make. You wll too.

All photos were taken by Bakerwoman (that's me).

Some wine corks have writing all over the corks which are not good candidates to write on. Pick wine corks which has a space between the winery name and the winery logo to incribe the names of your herbs, vegetables, or flowers. These were the ones I selected out of my cork collection for this project.

Barbeque sticks come in packages of 25 or more and are available in varying diameters. I used the thicker skewers for kebabs to insert into the corks as these are stronger and more durable. After piercing the cork with the pointed end of the skewer, apply pressure and give it several turns. It should feel snug and tight. Be careful not to hurt yourself with the pointed tips while doing this.

I use the skinnier bamboo sticks to test my cakes and muffins for doneness. The thicker ones are great for kebabs and for craft projects.

I used a black permanent pen marker to write the herb names on the empty space of the corks since this was the only color I had on hand. There will be no room to add the Latin names in case you want to get fancy.

I prefer to read the herb names without having to turn my head sideways. Hence the corks are skewered in the center and not on either ends.

After I gave the marked corks two to three coats of clear nail polish, some of the black handwritten labels bled a bit and turned blackish purple. This made the herb names stand out more. I call this a happy accident.

It took less than 5 minutes for these coated wine labels to dry in the sun. I wanted to make sure that the nail polish was no longer sticky to the touch before sticking these herb makers into the pots. As you can see in the picture, some of the letterings turned purple and others did not.

There is no more confusion as what kind of thymes I have in one pot. One is the Golden Lemon Thyme with the yellow-edged leaves and the other one is English thyme, although in this case, the lemon thyme is obvious.

Herbs are not just for cooking and garnish anymore. These make great ornamental potted plants in the backyard patio or deck. I picked these three herbs, Golden Lemon thyme, English thyme and marjoram to be companion plants in one pot because their varying leaf shapes and colors make an interesting garden subject.

Easy Lemon Thyme Bars

Grilled Fish with Marjoram and tangerine recipe

The needle-like leaves of rosemary, the wispy feathery leaves of dill, and the serrated shape of the flat parsley make a wonderful herb trio in the pot. These herbs are also taller so I staggered the height of the stakes so the markers are easier to see and read.

I like the combination of the different leaves and the mingling of the aromatic herbs which bring to mind the next roast lamb, pork or fish dinner.