Wow, that is awesome!!!! Wish I could find something like that, at that price, around here. I don't have pics to share with you but you might want to find "purplemoon" posts as she's put together a Garden Junk Inspiration Album with lots of the forum folks pic of their stuff.

Sal

$20 ARE YOU KIDDING!!! WOW!! Don't know if you want to cut a hole... but some where there's a site where they use old bathroom sinks they are really cool. Just hook the hose up and you'd have running water.. Please post a pic of your progress.

AWESOME potting bench! Love the way you finished it. Though I don't think I would cut a hole in it.

I've seen where some gardeners use old gardening tools for decor or handles. I've attached a few pics of my new potting bench.
You'll see I used an old enamel table and an old door. Added a hanging pot of flowers and a window box on the back

(took those 2 pics today)
Also you can't see but on the far end I hung a metal hook thingy that I hang my tools on...but they are out in the weather.

Anyway, I love your bargain! Have fun with it! Awesome find! Jeanne S.
Purplemoon ... would you link the inspiration album for her?
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Your bench is BEAUTIFUL. WOW, I absolutely love it.
Did you see these photos in our Inspiration Album? Two benches, and a cute idea for an "accessory" on a bench.

hugs, Karen

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That is beautiful!!!!! I am coveting your table! Well done! I am in the process of making a potting table. (It's been in the planning stages for 2 years! LOL) I'm going to cut out a hole for a deep, rustic enamel pan I bought at a garage sale. That way I can hold the dirt in its place. I LOVE YOUR TABLE!!!! Bear Hugs! Kirk

Wow! What a find - its so substantial. Jeanne I love yours too. These are all great! Love the old tool draw handles. Now I want one. Do you all leave them out in the weather? And what kind of weather are we talking?
kathy

Well, this is funny. I have been creating a power point garden journal each year to watch the progress in my garden. This year, because of this forum, I made one for Garden Junk and Decor to keep all of my likes together. All of these potting tables are in it already. I bought garden tools to attach from the dollarstore. I love the idea of the door and my husband and I (using it as our inspiration) were looking for a door but then we came across this table. Couldn't pass off a $20 table. (My husband thought that the door one was amazing!!! Its the reason he wanted a potting table in the yard in the first place) I really love the hanger for the hanging basket of flowers. That is something I will do for sure. I love the purple one but wanted it to be stained to match the yard (my husband wants more of an English Garden theme so I didn't want to blow his mind with too much colour) I love the accents on the purple table. So lovely. I love the picket fence idea too. I loved all of these potting tables and I plan to take an idea from here and there to really make an accent in the garden. Thanks everyone. I really would like to put a hole in it and love the kitchen sink idea. You could put a plastic container under the hole to catch excess dirt but I am not sure I want to attempt to cut one the right size. Great idea though. How awesome would that be? I wouldn't mind attaching a wooden box to the side for dirt so it can be scraped off the top and put in the box but a container would have to be in it so that it wouldn't fall threw. I saw that idea in a book so I can't attach a picture of it. Going to be lots of fun!

i am looking to do a potting table that will be accessible from the sitting position-i have arthritis and do lots of the gardening- most in fact- sitting. i have a very substantial old coffee table thats oval (kind of like your found potting bench slr8) i have old windows, an old door that is totally in panes, a big mirror, an old mailbox, and some plastic shelving. anyone have ideas? would pictures help? i also have a hanging swing that i was thinking of making into a bench to accompany the potting bench....i have lots of junk (bet thats news to y'all lol) so ideas are appreciated. and i'd like to put it on a base of some pavers....

My purple bench has a new home and some new decor, including a bottle opener and a soap dish.I got some old closet hooks from the flea market. Or you can find hooks and or knobs at Home depot. Look in the garden section for hooks that hang plants, or the restore for old knobs.I also added some old mason jars with vintage seed packs inside.
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Dixiesmom, I absolutely love that bench. I want to find some decorative knobs and hooks. I will keep a look out tomorrow at yard sales. Never know. Maybe some antique stores but sometimes they are too nice to leave in the rain and such. I love all the pots. How long have you had your potting table? Do you use it often or do you use it as a decorative piece in the yard?

I love your purple potting bench, Dixiesmom (good name, by the way, my sis is a Dixie!) Anyway, looks like you moved it into a more protected area...mine is out in the open by the garden shed. Love the bottle opener...takes me back to my diet Pepsi days!

Concretenprimroses...we're talking Iowa winter...that means anything! Cold winters, rain, sunshine, humidity, dry, you name it! Anyway, this is the first summer for my potting shed, so I hope it lasts a few years...we put it on cement blocks in the ground...and I'll probably have to repaint once in a while.

slr8...your's is going to be beautiful! It is already! Have fun ... also, thanks for posting those pics, Purplemoon...I love both of those! Jeanne S.

My potting bench is similar to yours (stained wood with a sealant) except is has two shelves on the bottom. My bench sits inside my shed so the stuff I have on it might differ from an outside bench. Like the photos of the other benches posted, I have lots of stacked terracotta pots on my shelves, plus a rolled up Mexican blanket, an antique wash tub, small wooden fruit crates holding nails, screws, jute string, etc., a wire egg basket, a lantern hanging off of the side, a wooden toolbox with gardening tools, and finally a bust (head and shoulders) of what looks like a French woman to put my gardening hat on when I'm not wearing it.

That is a BEAUTIFUL potting table. Did you varnish it with marine varnish for extra protection? I use my old bathroom vanity and like a couple of people suggested, you may like to cut a hole in it for an old sink. I LOVE that feature on my table. You pot up in the sink and the soil goes safely down the drain into an old pot to reuse. No waste at all. I'm a very messy potter-upper! ;-)
Looking forward to seeing it embellished! (I've never done a thing with mine and it looks sooo drab!)

These potting benches are all wonderful! I don't have one, but I sure wish I did!

Slr8...$20?!?! Wow...I wanna come shopping with you!

B :)

Caroleena, sounds like you have some great stuff to work with and plenty of ideas. Can't wait to see what you make now!
Redthistle, sure would like to see a photo of yours after that wonderful description!

I'd love to have one of these potting benches just for decoration, they are all so cool.

hugs, Karen

I agree, that is a beautiful table. I don't think I'd be able to put such a lovely piece of furniture outdoors!

I used a stain and sealant in one...forget what it is called right now. I will bring mine in for the winter. Might as well since it won't be used and my husband would rather do that than make me a new one. ha ha ha. I love potting benches because you can use one for the containers but then it becomes part of the decor of the garden. I can't wait to put mine outside but it hasn't stopped raining in a week (free water for the gardens, yeah) but still...It is thundering and lightning right now so that is why I am in here checking the forum out and having a tea. I think for mine, I would like to put a sink in it but my husband wouldn't have the tools to do it, I don't think. I will run it passed him to see what he thinks...but I doubt he'd want to do it. I want a small topiary (like a lavender one) on it along with some rustic pieces. It will take some running around to antique stores I think to get what I want but it will be worth it. I would like to see more potting tables if anyone else wants to show theirs off. Anyone else???

What a deal! $20! I had my handy-dude make me this potting table. I never thought of decorating it! Since this picture was taken I've added hooks for trowells and clippers etc. It is generally MUCH more of a mess!!! with pots stacked up and thing waiting for my attention.
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I think decorating them makes it a nicer place to work...don't you think? Then when not in use, they will look pretty. I know there will be times when mine will be a mess too. I hope to keep it somewhat clean BUT I when looking at the garage, shed and basement, I am not so sure. ha ha ha. It's all in fun. Take another pic for us!

This is my potting table. My dad gave me the base (legs and top support) from an old massage table so it's pretty sturdy. My husband found a nice piece of plywood from the room over the garage which the previous owner left filled with an assortment of boards and wood. We cleaned it and he attached it and it looks like it belongs there. I've only had it about a month but you can see I've been busy. The potting/garden shed it's in used to be a chicken coop but we moved it, cleaned it up and painted it on the inside. I need to finish the outside before I begin planting around it.

Here is a link that might be useful: sugarmaple1

My garden is 16' X 16', and, Caroleena, I'm not in a wheelchair, but am disabled. I want a full sized potting table, just cuz they're really pretty, (as proven above)but not entirely practical for my set up. Truth is, I have a potting table, but nothing like y'all are talking about.

My potting table is a cheapo, plastic 2' X 2' table found in someone's trash, "parked" right near our picnic table and right in front of my chair. I sit to work, because I already stand up way too much for my own good gardening. (Innocent look up at my ceiling. LOL) My wooden tool box, generally sits up on the picnic table, along with my soda, and paper towels to stop dripping sweat on my projects. If I'm putting soil in a container, I bring over another, smaller plastic table, next to it, so I don't have to lean over too far. (I've found three tables in the trash really, but only consider one my potting table.)

As for storing away additional containers, soil, and such, I just got free plastic shelving through FreeCycle Network, put one behind the small grill, and have the top shelf full of herb containers, with containers on either side for most of the rest of the herbs, so hubby can grill sitting down, and just grab some herbs, to add to dinner. The second shelf has one more herb and an outdoor clock, that is sheltered from rain by a couple of planters in an aluminum pan. Underneath are our longest containers, now that the lettuce is done for the early part of the summer.

The other shelf, is next to our old big grill (filled with soil and two kinds of basil) - has my sweet potato plant growing on half of the top shelf, and I plan to sort through the unused pots to cut it down enough, to use the other half of the second shelf for succulents, which can't take much watering, but like plenty of sun, after adding plexiglass onto the top shelf. That ought to give me enough room for any extra pots, and the bottom shelf is leftover soil.

And, to keep from bringing in and taking out all my gardening tools, next to the grill and new shelving unit, is a child's wooden toybox, I trash picked (why do people throw away perfectly useful stuff?), and added several layers of wax, before opting for a plastic tarp on it (held in place by a container with my terra cotta shards in it), and some PVC pipe under it, so it won't rot from the rain splashing on or under it, where I keep that toolbox, birdseed (or the mice and squirrels will get at it before the birds get any), and any spare pots that don't fit elsewhere. Also a good flat area for hubby to put dishes of food on as they wait their turn for the grill.

As for useful tools to add to potting benches or work areas, along with the obvious trowel, cutting tools, and that three prong "hand-rake" (sometimes I just can't remember words), I recommend spaghetti prongs, if you're into cactus or thorny plants; a used flour sifter for sifting tiny seeds and sand together to spread seeds evenly and to sift on powdered insecticide onto your big leafed plants that bugs are enjoying a bit too much; plastic measuring cups and spoons - since so much has to be measured; two plastic bleach or milk cartons - one cut so you can use it to scoop soil, and the other cut horizontally, so you can fill it with soapy water to either clean your hands or drown annoying bugs in; a metal brush for cleaning the grill (assuming you have a grill); a spool holder for your spool of string; a pair of scissors; a cup (with small holes on the bottom, if your bench will get rained on) to hold a small paint brush to carefully wipe a thin layer of soil over your seeds, a bigger brush to clean off your bench when you're done, a single chopstick to use as a dibble, pipe cleaners, computer cable holders, and/or strips of stockings to tie up plants, a permanent marker, whatever markers you use to identify your plants, clothespins, which seem to often hold my paper towels, so I can wipe dirt or sweat off, but are also good to stop umbrellas from flapping around on a windy day or temporarily holding other stuff on windy days; a nice sturdy hook on one side, so you can hang a bucket on it to wash your hands or water your newly planted plant; another one on the other side, for your bucket with sand and oil, to push your tools in after you've cleaned them, to keep them sharp and never rusty; and extra hooks since we can never have enough stuff. At least, that's my dream when we win the lottery, buy a bigger place with a bigger yard, and I finally get that potting bench and shed. LOL (The gardener can add soil into containers and move them around for me, while the maid cleans! ROFLMBO)

You have given me some great ideas about tools to have at hand that I never even thought about. Thanks for the information guys! I have the potting table in the yard now but haven't had the time to decorate it really. There are empty pots on it and some tools. I have yet to put the hooks on it for the tools. I will get there but I am tackling a mint patch. Always busy. Pictures tomorrow, perhaps.

Here it is without the embellishments.

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Much more to be added.