Carving out a garden work space, just for you, can be a luxury! Isn’t this season a good time to do so? A place to pot up a container, to keep your hand tools and to keep your potting soils, mulch and gravel can lift your mood in the garden, energize you and get you ready for the coming gardening season.
Ann and Mike Elias worked on this potting bench and what’s inspiring is that the total cost so far is under $50! Hooks and a tile top were added. The doors on the back and fish stand were free. They used a gallon of ‘oops’ paint from Home Depot and only had to purchase the shelf and side boards at full cost. Tile was found for .50 cents each and the doors on the side were $2, both at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Barbara Fruehe says, “My hubby built this from wood someone tossed out, birdhouses from yard sales, purchased old window, and odds and ends from our garden!”
Becky Norris says, “This is my new (old) potting bench. It is put together from a flea market table, $1.00, old door, free, and discount shelf find, $20. Function and enjoyment…priceless!
Dean McCall says, “Fall is tryin’ to creep in at our house; found some Mums beside my “faux” Cabin Porch” on my makeshift Potting bench, by my little pond already!”
In Fall, you’ll need your seeds organized in an airtight can and your planting and trimming tools handy. Nearby, hopefully, there will be a compost pile for your trimmings. I keep my potting soil in an old wheelbarrow without its frame, but many use a series of plastic trash containers with lids. I keep bird seed in one.
Di-Ellen says, Some folks at work were chatting about their gardens…they asked me if I liked to garden…When I confirmed that I did, they asked, “Oh, what kinds of plants do you have?” It was then that I realized it…I have a junk garden! Sure, I have potted flowers, perennials in raised beds, and a few window boxes, but mostly I had junk…beautiful, glorious JUNK!!!”
This imaginative potting shed proves that Mary Mirabal has loads of garden style. She’s says, “I hung this “found” window frame on my potting shed. The potting shed actually began its life as my children’s play and swing set. We re-purposed it into my potting shed after the kids were grown.”
In Winter, you need a place for bags of mulch, a pitch fork to spread it and supplies to protect plants from the cold. Tools need a permanent place to be kept out of the weather, so a potting bench just outside a tool shed is ideal.. Terracotta pots, which can crack in the cold, can be stacked on a shelf if you have one.
Julie Scherbarth shows us the potter’s bench her husband built and set against the colorful wall of their shed
For Spring, you’ll need a place for bulbs and bulb planting supplies. Drip system supplies fit into an easily carried picnic basket and is stored on a lower shelf on my potting bench. An old rake head hangs above my work bench and holds the small hand tools I use each day in the garden, my clipper, trowel and a steak knife for weeding.
I repot many of my patio pots here in Spring and a two-inch thick wooden top to my bench, set at waist height, makes a good sturdy work surface.
Lisa Fay is another lucky gardener, whose husband was able to build a ‘creating space’ for her. An fancy iron railing pice is the star feature and the flagstone patio echoes the shapes. A slated shelf drains easily and shelves on either side hold necessaries
TIP: If you like using a certain type of plastic container for storage like Lisa’s, measure to make sure the shelves are custom sized for them.
Margie Yongue took up our Double Dog Dare You challenge to clean up her craft work bench and storage area. She says she spent one to two hours each day to clean it up and now can actually find what she need to plant her garden seeds.
In Summer, a chair in the shade nearby is handy for collapsing after a ‘working’ walk around the garden. Mine has a cozy cushion and small table nearby for my water glass. I collect only a few of the empty pots, ground cover trays and empty pony paks for starting more seeds and I discard or recycle the rest. Some nurseries will gladly accept their commercial pots again! In summer, my handle tools simply lean against the workbench,…out where they’re handy.
Nancy Carter says, “My favorite project for this year was my potting bench. I found a nice sturdy table with an enamel top. The top had been painted (very badly). I stripped it back to the enamel and we added a shelf at the bottom and shelves at the top. I put 1″ hardware cloth behind the upper shelves to hang tools and hung an old mailbox onto the side for storage and a couple of brackets. I am really happy with the way it turned out.”
Nancy Carter also has an indoor work bench. She says, “Getting my craft room ready for this winter’s fun. Still have some organization to do so it will be easy to work out of. I got a new (old) porcelain table for a work table replacing the 6′ folding table that took up too much space. I added wheels to the legs making it tall enough to sit at on my stool comfortably. I added the small club feet and the wheels to make it taller. I need to add some black stain to the white paint to make them more like the legs.”
Patti Earley’s new work bench. ” This is “After” and it’s still a work in progress. I have a good place to sit now, to craft and enjoy the music!”
Share a photo of YOUR garden work bench and show it off….I’m sure we’ll be inspired, too.
Grow, Grow, Grow, Your Boat... These boat gardens are beautiful, colorful, and well grown. It looks like a lot of… Read More
'Paint' Your Garden with Blue... Is your garden is singing the blues? Mix recycled containers and crafts with blue flowers… Read More
See this hilarious and sometimes poignant list of lost items in the garden Question.......what was the last thing you lost… Read More
Designing a charming garden baker's rack When I first saw Jeanne’s well-arranged and simply delightful Baker’s rack, I thought, ‘Somebody… Read More
Choosing a color from 'Over the Rainbow Garden' Billie Hayman's garden is full of color and she shows how one… Read More
Alliums are drama queens in the garden! Whether real flowers, grown from bulbs or the crafted faux flowers modeled after… Read More
View Comments
Love your work