Sunday, March 27, 2011

Potting table

I have two compost tumblers in my yard.  I love them, and I do use them, but they aren't the prettiest things to look at.  Maybe you've seen them in photos I've posted -- looking as though they don't really belong...

I was brainstorming with a neighbor in my backyard this weekend, and I came up with an idea that I am really excited about.  (So unusual for me, right?  HA.) 

I have a cement slab behind my carport/shed.  Right now it has some plastic shelving on it, which holds all my clay plant pots.  I realized I'd rather look at the pots than the tumblers, so I decided I would move all the pots out, and put the two tumblers back there.  They do best in the sun, and I do think they would get enough sun there.  Here's where my pots currently live:


So then, where to put the pots?  Enter my friend Jamie Durie and his great Outdoor Room ideas.  One of the recent episodes I watched featured this potting table made from a re-purposed piece of furniture:


Love.

He took a table (you could also use an old dresser) and put some planks on top and a one up the back to create a shelf.  My neighbor schemed that I could also cut a whole in the top and drop in an old sink.  Yes!  And where to put the table?  I propose here, under the bedroom window (and see?  A compost tumbler!)



This is unused space that obviously needs some love. The utility piping going up the house makes it particularly unsightly.  (I've yet to rent a tiller and smooth that whole area out -- I need an entire weekend set aside and so far I haven't had an open one...)  I also have a hose spigot right there, so I could actually use the sink (it would just drain into the ground below) for rinsing pots etc.  And wouldn't the nearby rain barrel be handy for those newly potted plants?

I've long said that I want to build a wooden screen out of 1"x2"s to cover that (leaving the gauge visible for the utility company).  I had seen something similar in San Antonio on a sister weekend.  And then Jamie had these screens on the same episode!


I could totally blend that into the potting table and give that whole space a makeover.

I'm going to start watching thrift stores and I've already made some inquiries on Craig's List for some old piece of furniture I can re-purpose.  SO excited.

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