My love affair with potting benches started in early spring when I saw a beautifully styled potting bench repurposed in a Pottery Barn catalog (see above). Before I knew it, I was fantasizing about all the cute ways I could style mine with drink dispensers and cute handmade or vintage signs for parties out in our garden.
The thing is, the “potting bench” in current use in my garden is a good sized picnic table absolutely covered in dirt, empty plastic pots, and flats of various seedlings I’m in the middle of starting. There is nothing cute or styled about any of it – it’s a functional workspace and I’d be hard presses to keep it as neat as a lot of these inspiration photos.
In studying these pictures and thinking more about the whole concept of a designated spot for “potting” things, I’ve come to a few conclusions —
1st – A working potting bench needs to be functional and hold everything I need to pot up plants in the garden. This could mean there are a variety of pots, containers of various potting soils and soil amendments like peat, sand, or potting soil as well as gloves and various tools for the task.
2nd – Know that it’s not a greenhouse. Part of the problem with my current set-up is the fact that I let my stuff stay there. My lettuce seedlings are hanging out in the exact same spot they started in this past spring and taking up precious real estate I could be using.
3rd – Although a potting bench is a place to muck around in the dirt, a little inspiration never hurt anyone so it’s nice to seek out cute little garden signs, pretty gardening gloves, and attractive containers
Married with Style 