I love the identifying tags that come in the pot when I buy plants at the nursery. After saving piles of them, I decided to turn some of them into fan books. You can collect them over a season and make a book of all the plants you planted. Or use the tags as base for a poem, a song, or the steps to making the garden. I love David Mallett’s Garden Song and made a book of the chorus.
Materials
Plant tags
Hole punch
Twist ties
2 shank buttons (buttons with loop on back rather holes in button to sew through. The loop should be large enough for two ends of a folded twist tie to be threaded through)
Make the Fan Book
Punch a hole at the narrow end of the garden tag. Many have an outlined circle marked which makes a perfect guide for the hole.
Insert a twist tie in the loop of the one of the buttons. This will be the front of the book.
Pull one end of the twist tie through so that the ends are even and twist them together at the loop.
Stack the tags. Insert the two ends of the twist tie into the punched holes from the front of the book (where the pictures are.)
Pull the ends of the twist tie through so that the button is against the tags. Twist the ends to hold the tags closely together.
Insert the ends of the twist tie through the loop of the second button and push the button against the tags. Separate the two ends and wrap each end around the loop.
Your garden fan book is complete!
A lovely song to share with your children is the Garden Song by David Mallett. It has been recorded by many artists, having been made famous by John Denver and Arlo Guthrie, among others.
Garden Song by David Mallett
Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground
Visit here for the complete lyrics of the Garden Song, and Arlo Guthrie’s humorous addition.
Hear some versions of the Garden Song by Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, and John Denver.
For a lovely illustrated children’s book of the Garden Song, check out Inch by Inch: The Garden Song.
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Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is an artist, educator, mother of two grown children, and the author of Handmade Books For A Healthy Planet. She shares her love of making books, her art, and celebrations of the seasons at Susan Gaylord.