Your Garden Needs These Cute DIY Signs Upcycled From Old Wood Pallets

Most of a garden's charm comes from the plants growing in it, but that doesn't mean you can't add a little extra through some cute decor. If you're looking for a fun and simple craft to decorate your garden with, why not make some simple scrap wood signs? They can be used to label your plants, communicate to visitors, or purely for decor. Old wood pallets are a great source of scrap wood for these signs. They're plentiful and the weathered, rustic wood looks right at home in a garden. Plus, it doesn't take much wood to make a sign. If you have any partial pallets leftover from other wood pallet DIY projects, this is a great way to make use of them. In addition to your wood boards, you'll need a drill and screws, hammer and nails, or wood glue to combine the boards and some basic carpentry tools such as a saw and sandpaper. To make your sign look nice, grab some decorating supplies like paint or markers.

The finished signs can be as fancy as you want, but the general idea is to use one piece of wood for the top of the sign and another for the post. It's a beginner-friendly construction, but in order to make it plant-friendly you need to pay attention when choosing your pallet. Wood pallets that are labeled MB or SF were treated with chemicals that may be dangerous to you or the environment and should not be used for gardening or crafting.

Separate the wood boards from your pallet. Prying them up is one option, but it's difficult and requires extra care to avoid injuring yourself or breaking the boards. Instead, cut the ends of the boards off. Since the wood will be in your garden, some mildew is okay, just avoid using anything heavily rotted for the sign post for stability. If you love the rustic look of pallet wood, pick out the boards with the most interesting discolorations or chips for your sign. When choosing the pallet boards to become the sign post, consider how tall the sign will be. If the signs will be plant labels, the posts can be fairly short, so any of the boards will do. For a taller sign, you'll need to carefully remove one longer board as a single piece. If you don't have a suitable piece and need more wood, you can supplement your existing pallet collection with free wood pallets from your community.

For a simple, blocky sign, you can leave the boards as they are and simply attach one board horizontally to the top of a vertical board. If you'd prefer a neater look, use some sandpaper or a sander to smooth out the edges and surface. Cut the corners off one end of your sign for a classic arrow-shaped sign, or attach multiple boards together for a larger one. A narrower post will look a little nicer as well, so cut your board lengthwise before affixing the sign to the top.

You can decorate your garden sign before or after assembling it, and there are a lot of options for how to decorate them. Add the names of your plants with little paintings of the flowers or veggies, deck it out like a whimsical wayfinding signpost, adorn it with a fun saying, or just use it like a mini mural. If you're planning a party, the signs could be used to tell guests which way to go, or they could be fun seasonal displays that are rotated throughout the year. No matter what design you're dreaming of, here are a few tips to help you find success.

Tracing the design onto your sign with pencil before painting will help ensure it looks right, but this is particularly important for text. You want your signs to be easy to read, especially if you're using them to label the plants in your garden. Since pallet wood is often weathered, the uneven surface may make it tough to write clearly. Sanding the surface first is a good idea. Since the wood will be outdoors and exposed to the elements, you may want to seal it as well. You don't have to if you prefer a weathered aesthetic or plan for the sign to be temporary. In that case, you should only use eco-friendly craft supplies, as it's likely that the paint or other decorations will fall off at some point. Otherwise, it's important to seal old wood to keep your wood pallet garden signs looking nice.