Garden Art Projects for Seniors

Plant Markers

• Plant markers are inexpensive to make and easy to assemble. Martha Stewart offers a simple, yet earthy recipe for making natural plant markers. Find or purchase eight to 10 small flat stones per participant. Then using alphabet stamps that are available in craft stores, spell out the name of garden plants and herbs such as basil, thyme, dill, daisy, crocus, etc. Use permanent ink so your project does not disappear with the first rain. Place the plant markers near their garden namesakes.

  Seniors could also make simple plant markers by using the seed containers and/or catalog pictures of plants in the garden. You only need gather some empty seed containers and wooden stakes--such as popsicle sticks--and glue.

Container Gardens

• Container gardening is an easy way to add splotches of color to a garden. Gardeners can work in pairs or individually to design a colorful container. First, layer a large working area or table with newspaper. You need to gather small- and medium-sized planters. Work with lightweight materials that are easy for seniors to manipulate.

  Arrange large containers with potting soil throughout the work area. Buy small plants and include a variety of plants with different sun requirements. Mark each container with an "FS" for full sun, a "P" for partial sun and a "SH" for shade. Calculate two to three plants per small container and three to four for a medium garden. Gardeners are encouraged to create original container gardens with appropriately grouped plants.

Wind Chimes

• Wind chimes impart a delightful musical flavor to any outdoor environment. Seniors can pull together a wind chime quickly. You only need gather cut kite twine or fishing line for the different chime stokes. Next, you will need the chime object. Some suitable objects are secondhand silver, small sea shells--collect these from the beach or purchase in any aquarium store--or even objects such as game jacks. Use craft glue to attach the objects. Tie or attach the stokes to a piece of wood, aluminum or other anchoring object.

Garden Mirrors

• Gardeners can enjoy their beautiful flowers even more with the addition of mirrored objects. Purchase small mirrored panes with pre-cut adhesive pads and attach to various objects. Add a yardstick or ruler to help line up the mirrors. Seniors can work together or individually to mirror an old work table or individually to mirror a small plastic cube. You can purchase or recycle artwork and have your artists add mirrored accents and highlights. Invite these project managers to use their imagination and mirrors to create some original artwork.