Creating a beautiful and functional potting bench space

When it comes time to plant each spring, one of the first places I set up is my potting bench. In fact, it’s usually set up before the season even begins because if it’s nice enough, I’ll plant seeds for the vegetable garden outside on the potting bench.

In partnership with Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart, I wanted to show you everything I use to create my little DIY potting space in the backyard. And I’ll give you a few tips and tricks for setting up one of your own.

Pick your potting space

First things first, you need to have a potting bench. It could be an old table, a workbench or a potting bench that you buy with all the bells and whistles.

Do you want a place to put your dirt? Hooks for tools? Do you want a place for pots or a place to dry herbs? Do you need to have room for water or will a space for a watering can work?

Because our property is so large, I actually have two benches, one in the garden you can see {HERE} and this old one that’s in this post. Kevin bought me this one for our 5th wedding anniversary – and this year we will be married 12 years – so this bench looks a little shabby. But I don’t mind. I keep this one up by the house specifically for potting plants for the front porch and the back porch.

However, if you need a potting bench, I recommend the one {HERE} from Better Homes & Gardens from Walmart.

It’s made from real wood, which is always something that’s important to me when buying products like this because it’s more customizable than plastic. For example, you can add more nails or hooks for tools or lighting, or even add another shelf if you need it. Plus, once the wood starts wearing it always paints up prettier than plastic.

The Cane Bay potting bench also has a place for dirt right in the table similar to the one I have, and it has hooks for tools. I swear without those hooks my tools would be scattered around the yard and we would never find them.

I also love that there are two extra little shelves – one at the top for small pots and one on the side. My table doesn’t have either of these features and I always seem to run out of space. Lastly, even if you’re not a big planter, I think Better Homes & Gardens Cane Bay potting bench would make a cute entertaining unit.

Dirt doesn’t hurt

The next thing you will want on your potting bench is dirt and somewhere to put the dirt. My potting bench and the Better Homes & Gardens Cane Bay potting bench both have a space for dirt built right into the benches. If you’ve using something that doesn’t have a space, you can use a galvanized tub – like I also do here. I use the metal tub because it makes it easy for me to carry the dirt around our property, but if you’re using an old table or something similar to my potting bench in the garden area, then something like this galvanized tub from Better Homes & Gardens {HERE} would work really well.

Plenty of pots

I might have a slight addiction to buying garden pots. Like so many women in New York might be addicted to buying shoes, here in the Midwest garden pots are my thing. Make sure your bench has a place to put plenty of pots. Both my benches have bottom shelves for storage and space for me to stack them.

This summer I’m using some of my favorite pots from Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart including:

• 12-inch Teramo Round Ceramic Planter, White
• 6-inch Teramo Round Ceramic Planter, White
• 2″ x 12″ x 7.45″ Round Blue Ceramic Plant Planter
• 6″ Toramina Round Ceramic Planter, Teal
• 6-inch White Glazed Ceramic Basket Pot
• 8-inch White Glazed Ceramic Basket Pot
• 6-inch Savona Round Ceramic Planter, White
• 8″ x 8″ x 8″ Round White and Brown Ceramic Plant Planter

Tools of the trade

Most people like to have a place to hang their hat. As a gardener, I like to have a place to hang my tools. No matter what your bench looks like, make sure you have a space for those. If you’re using a table instead of a bench or an old workbench, don’t be afraid to add a few nails to it so you can organize yourself.

The tools I find most vital to have in this space are my spade, a larger scoop and my pruners. You want to prune every plant before you plant it to give it it’s best chance.

Plants make it come alive

Most of our plants around the outside of the house are from the Better Homes & Gardens collection at Walmart. And I will tell you, I really love that all their plants seem to go together.

By that I mean, it seems like the collection of plants and colors was thought out, so I don’t have to put as much energy into looking for the right color scheme.

Sometimes I walk into a garden center and I’m so overwhelmed by all the colors that I end up bringing home a hodge podge of things that don’t always look good together. (Back to the garden center for me then.) But all the plants in the Better Homes & Gardens collection really complement one another and work well together when you’re trying to create a cohesive look.

I also love their variety. Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart has so many different types of plants that you can make planters that have thrillers, fillers and spillers. And they even have plants like Dahlias – so you can try your hand at keeping them alive before committing to buying a refrigerator full of tubers.

Water makes the world go-round

Wherever your potting bench is located, make sure there’s water near-by or a place to put a large watering can. All plants should be watered right after they are potted to help their roots adjust and soak it all in for the plant. On my bench I have a 1.7 galvanized watering can from Better Homes & Gardens. You can find it {HERE}.

A little light

So, I will say that adding light to your potting bench isn’t necessary. But some ambiance is always nice, right? The sting lights {HERE} from Better Homes & Gardens are a good choice if you have this set up on a patio and access to electricity. I added a pair of these solar, classic white lanterns {HERE} to my space and I think they really set it off and make it beautiful.

What else would you add to a potting bench space for you? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! I hope that you come back again to see what we’re up to at Sugar Maple Farmhouse. For more gardening posts, click {HERE}. Also, find out how to plant flowers in pots {HERE}.