Thursday, January 17, 2008

Potting Benches

This is one hard working area of my garden which serves multiple functions. I was able to build it because Mr. Fix-it and I salvaged all of the wood from an old deck.


Not one to waste things, the wood sat around for a year or so until I was able to build this bench. Potting benches need not be fancy-just functional. I made sure to build this one low so I could reach the counter easily (I am short), and I wanted lots of storage for pots and soil out of sight-hence the curtain. Someday I will hook up a faucet to the the two dollar porcelain sink on the left side of the counter, then I will really be in business.

For now I mainly use my potting bench for privacy, storage and display. The painted words say, "Pot me up Scotty!" and "Gardeners know the best dirt". Personal touches are the best kind in a garden don't you think?



in the garden....rebuilding a fence.

20 comments:

  1. Really cute potting area --I do like the catchy phrases you put on yours:) lol Have a great day!

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  2. Good morning anonymous! Thanks for the nice comments. I think gardens (and homes) need personality so I try to put lots into mine. Not necessarily my personality though.:)

    Where is my sister Dawn with Peaches? Can she be staining or painting that Hoosier? Moving into the brand new house that has been years in the works? Oh what oh what can it be? Maybe the power is down due to snow? Come on back dawn with peaches!

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  3. Hi Tina,

    My name is Tavia Green. I'm a reporter at The Leaf Chronicle. I had a question for you. Please call me today before 12:30 p.m. at 931-245-0742. I appreciate it so much!

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  4. Love the workbench Tina! And homemade too! How creative you are...

    We had a homemade table (previous homeowners) in the utility room when we moved into this house. Nothing much to look at but served the purpose of folding clothes after laundry. We upgraded with our own store bought cabinets, etc. The Saint wanted to trash the old table but I would not let him. Instead we installed it into our Metal shed for me a gardening bench. Saint fuss and fuss about how ugly it would make the shed look. After we installed it to my specs, the Saint agrees it looks nice and serves a purpose. Now he uses the thing as much as I do and I constantly fuss about how he needs to move his tools and projects from my ugly table! Again, Skeeter was right!

    We had snow last night! It had me excited to see the beautiful white fluff falling from the sky. I collected firewood and it was fun to walk to the wood shed with snow falling on my head! Nothing more then a dusting fell but way down here in the Deep South that is a major thing! It made the front page of the newspaper this morning! Time for a pot of chili… LOL.. In the south, it is tradition when hearing of bad weather approaching, we rush to the store and buy milk, bread and the “fixins” for chili! Funny stuff….

    Saint just called from work. He is having a bad sinus attack (headache, clogged up, sore throat, etc) as I had last month. Poor thing is heading home to rest! And to think, I decorated the house, went to TN, back to GA and entertained his parents and dog while I was sick. Ah, men they are such wimps! Just hope he does not have it as long as I did, I may go nuts from his whining! LOL… I better go make that baby a fire in the living room!

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  5. Tina, like your potting bench, so much work space and storage. I was not so creative or energetic, so I purchased one a couple years ago. It is small, but is great to have. I didn't get one with the water hook up, since I have a garden hose close to it. I have two galvanized garbage cans next to it. One had potting soil and the other an accumulation of smaller flower pots.

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  6. Nice use of your old deck Tina. It looks like you conveniently located it next to your compost bins. Where in the world did you find a 2 dollar porcelain sink?

    I had a similar project I did this summer. I used an old palette and sanded it down with some other scrap lumber. Then pieced it together and stained it.

    Here's a look:
    Palette Potting Bench

    I really like it when you can recycle something old into something new and useful!

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  7. Hey guys!
    Skeeter, you are very funny and I can see why my mom likes your writing so much.

    I hope the Saint is feeling better. We women know we are tougher than guys in ALOT of respects and if the Saint had to travel around, he probably would-without too much complaining. Isn't it nice he can come home so you can baby him? Tell him I hope that fire is really WARM and he gets well soon and appreciates you.

    Hey Nina and Dave,
    I have to tell you the secret of my potting bench is reuse and the Salvation Army. I could not believe my good luck when I found this huge sink for only $2! Of course I will probably spend $50 to fit it out with a hook up for the hose. Though, it has been unhooked for four years, what is another year or two? Does anyone else have the same problem? Starting but not finishing projects? For me gardens ALWAYS get done, projects, well that is another story.

    Nina,
    I never thought of using garbage cans for my soil and stuff. Duh. I will have to get some. Metal is best? Right now they hang out in their bags. Not very efficient because the water soaks the stuff all the time.

    Dave,
    Next to the compost bins and about 10 feet from my veggie garden. A very convenient spot and the compost never stinks so that is not a problem. My little greenhouse is on the other side of the yard so I have to travel some, but that is okay.

    I checked out your potting bench. Nice. It looks like you stained it. I like the color. Did you locate it by your compost too? I think it works out well. Plus, that side of the yard is where I need some privacy, so the bench and compost are dual purpose.

    I have a bunch of pallets here too. I should probably use them but usually freecycle them. You made very good use of yours. If you want more, I have plenty. I do like the wood because it is weathered and rustic.

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  8. Hi Guys, no I painted my hoosier. I kept saying while sanding...If I were smart... I would stain this ole thing. But it had been restored once and had other holes in it. Besides I'm alittle nervous about staining because it just doesn't come off. Maybe one day, things are very nice recycled and very useful even when they are older than the hills.
    I didn't write last night because while gone on Mon, our powerline was installed! We put the breakers in and 3 outlets in my bedroon, 2 in the hall and one in the kitchen did not work, this was yesterday. One in the kitchen could be reran thur the floor, but Jack of all trades wanted to start tearing down ceilings. It dawned (ha) on us when we were discussing which ones were connected, that we may of wallpapered over connecting outlets, guesssss what. Yep, but what to do about the kitchen. I walked in there today with the stud finder, and said where the missing one was. I to like it when I'm right, wallowed in that one for quite some time, one shot (with out the finder) and we hit plastic thur sheetrock, imagine 3 guys and it takes me to locate it. Lesson learned, rough in electrical and hook up before finishing the house. Whew, got away with a simple solve and I'm still gloating!. All is working nicely now, will be moving next week, hopefully. Still have to apply water, I may prenotify Noah and his ark for that one! Nice potting bench, are the curtains, shower curtains? That would work up here.
    PS also got the 2nd bill from the electrician, it was shocking. No wonder they are not in a hurry.

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  9. Welcome back! What color did you paint the hoosier? I think sometimes paint is okay. It is to please you afterall.

    Great on the outlets and house. You and Skeeter should definitely talk because it seems you two are into one upping the men tonight. And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that! Go for it. I just think it is funny.

    Those curtains are handstitched by yours truly (still CAN'T sew with a machine-never will) and are made of fabric. I picked up a whole box at a flea market for $5. The material has been out there four years now and only has a little mildew on it-hasn't torn or rotted. It amazes me and was needed to hide the clutter under the workbench.

    Well, glad to see you back. Trying to figure out where mom is today.

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  10. I have the bin close to the house where all the pots are (inside the garage). The compost bin is way away from the house toward the back of the yard. I need to move it to a better location so it's out of view.

    I don't need any palettes right now but thanks! I have quite a few projects on tap. I don't think my wife wants any more scrap lumber in the yard, at least for the time being!

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  11. Wow, Dave made a nice potting bench out of palettes and, AND I always needed a place for those extra pots you get from buying different species of plants, wonderful idea to group them in a convenient place that you don't have to worry about. Is the station mobile? I made a toybox for my daughter from palettes we got from the furnace packing, I only take the oak, Daves station looks like it could be moved.
    I don't know where mom is, she is usually commenting on everything, your mom, you know.
    Another snow storm tom. we used all of our days because one school in the district had a water main break in sept and they counted it as a snow day, NOT FAIR, At this speed we will be in school until july.
    I know skeeter is funny with the one up, last week we had a state audit for unemployment and Jack of all trades bugged out half way into it. Had a severe cold. He missed the tricks the auditor and I talked about, you know with our dogs. Tartarus can be shot with fake fingers and will motion slowly to the dead position, on he back with frount paws up, like dead. The auditors dog spins then dies, like a violent drama dying. She was nice and we were found in compliance. Duh. I'm sure skeeter is putting aside her needs for The Saint as I do for Jack of all trades, who doesn't
    I'm am surprised you don't use the sewing machine often, but some friend tell me they can't stitch a straight line, that's ok., everyone has their own niche.

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  12. I have spent the day in the "big city of Portland" (LOL) today and just got home and am sooooo tired so will comment tomorrow. Very long day.

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  13. Yep plenty of unfinished projects for me! It took me about two years to get an old chair refinished! Things seem to get in the way at times...

    I do get one up on the Saint often but he does get the best of me at times too, I just may not share those times with y'all. ha ha.... Na, I know when I am licked but it dont happen around here often... LOL

    Hope you get into your house soon Dawn with Peaches! It sounds as though you have been working at that house for some time now. Kind of like one of my unfinished projects!

    Tina, I was shocked when you said the curtains have little mildew! That was the first thing I was thinking when I saw them was, oh how the mildew would get to them. I dont recall Clarksville having a mildew problem like we have down here in GA. Curtains would not work here at all. I do like the shower curtain idea though! Cleaver in deed...

    I stored the scarecrows from Falls display in the metal shed in the back yard. We had such a drought that they did not mildew at all while in the woods on display. Will be interesting to see if they mildew or not while in the shed for a year…

    Collected firewood from the wood shed and discovered the roof is leaking. Argggg, another project we will have to tackle when the Saint feels better.

    Refresh yourself Jean and tell us all about your big adventures in the city!

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  14. Hey Skeeter,
    Forgot to tell you we do get mildew here too. Maybe not as much as in Georgia. The potting bench faces north-into my yard. So it stays shady and moisture probably has a hard time drying. So the curtain has mildewed a bit. It is ok with me.

    Sorry to hear about your leak. Seems like it is one thing after another when you own a home. Too much time and money. I had so much time in Germany (and money) because someone else owned the house and the garden was small. I miss those days, just volksmarching and laying around reading or traveling. Not here! That homeowner thing.

    The scarecrows might mildew stored in a shed outside. I put mine in my garage, still they for some reason have mildew on them. sigh.

    Well, ttyl.
    tina

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  15. I swept the leaves and pine straw off the shed roof and put plastic on the wet wood to give it a chance to dry out a bit. The roof on the shed is plastic and it has warped enough to now hold water. Need to replace it with a metal roof as soon as the weather allows us to...

    I do miss an attached garage soooo much! We have a three sided with no door garage that sits way off from the house. The car, truck and riding mower and wagon stay in it but about time for the mower and wagon to move out. The car’s rear sticks out a bit thus the weather gets to it. I am thinking about hitting the Saint up to put sides and a back on the boat shed then we can put the mower in it for protection. I guess I could do like our idiot neighbors and leave the thing in the middle of the front yard where it has sat for two months! LOL…

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  16. You have lots of room and a beautiful boat shelter. That would be perfect to close in as long as the Saint could still move around. I hope your neighbors at least cover their boat but I am guessing not and it is an eyesore.

    Mom will be very happy today-lots of comments. I must be making up for not getting on yesterday. Mr. Fix-it is still fixing the computer. Last time he pulled all of my files off my hard drive and put them on my external drive. Then when he went to reformat it, magically it was working. We left well enough alone. Now the same problem is back (knew it would come back) and so now he has to reformat. The discs are not working. I hate it nowadays computer manufacturers make you make your own system recovery disks. Ridiculous! We don't know what to do if they don't work and the verdict is not looking favorable.

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  17. You are not alone with Computer problems. Sandy lost hers during the last storm. Last night my mom was telling me about hers being down most of the day yesterday. Now after reading the comments about the article about CDE and the Fiber optics, I think the cable was the culprit in her computer problems... This morning the Saints dad called as he was having a problem installing Turbo-tax. The Saint was able to solve his problem over the phone. I am lucky to have a Computer Wizard in the house as my Saint keeps the puter running smooth for us...Knock wood...

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  18. I was looking for this comment and it took me awhile. The computer is still not fixed. I am sure it is software but Mr. Fix-it says he has tried everything. Very frustrating.

    I thought the same thing as your mom when I saw CDE went online. It was frustrating having it out all day yesterday. Not usual for Charter.

    I really wanted to tell you Turbo Tax is online now. You don't even need to install the software! I did it all online last year and have the same log in and password to do it again this year. No need to buy the software but you still have a filing fee. I have bought turbo tax every year for over 10 years and was tired of buying it new and installing so i did it this way. It really works so tell your father in law to go to their website and create an account and use their software if any more problems occur.

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  19. hello its the mulch guy. remember the one asking about the newspaper??? nice comments about our conversation. i want to learn more from you. i like your blog. keep me updated with new ideas and pictures of your creations.

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  20. hi mulch guy! yes, of course i remember you! i wrote about all three of you and it was in the paper last thursday. no names mentioned. i guess i should have given you a warning, i write alot and always about my experiences and the mulch story with newspapers seemed to fit right in! i also learned from you and i LOVE the screen name! you never have emailed me. i am still waiting for it so i know how to contact you.

    i am glad you like the blog. check in often. you remember i said i am trying to give ideas and teach people of alternative ways of doing things? glad it is working and let me know what you learn. the others on here would like to talk to you as well. you gotta read the comments as there are many tips from tons of people. did you see the other tips on using newspaper? and did you switch to paper?

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