salvaged junk potting bench

spring and summer bring out my green thumb,

and having a potting bench to plant, replant, and putter around on is a necessity.

me being me, though, i'm not about to spend money on one!

i'd rather create something that is 'one of a kind' that no one else has,

re-using the junk and salvaged stuff that's already around the house...

so when i spied an unused plywood table extension in the garage, 

my mind saw it as a component of a potting bench for our backyard.

so last year, i got to work on it - and because i wasn't blogging then, i never shared it here.

with gardens on everyone's mind right now, i thought it was time to remedy that!

continue reading to see what ELSE i dragged out there to build this useful diy piece...

that plywood table extension was something that my Dad built for Mom, 

who always needed extra serving space for her epic parties.

it fit over both her dining room buffet AND her portable bar, and she used it often.

it's 8 feet long, two and a half feet wide - that's a LOT of workspace!

that plank sits on top of two low-backed patio barstools - 

we weren't using them, and they are the perfect height.

i slid two skinny pine boards through the legs of said barstools, 

and they sit on support bars to create a lower shelf.

a few wood crates and some galvanized buckets on that shelf hold small gardening supplies.

several large-scale vintage galvanized pieces round out the grouping -

a washtub and a small garbage bin. (click for details on my rustic wood signpost )

up on top of the plywood plank, i used some scrap sheet metal components:

a 'backsplash' of sorts is just a piece of metal siding that sits between a wood crate and our fence.

an old galvanized metal 'drip tray' or 'drip pan' (new ones are sold at auto parts stores)

lays on the surface to provide a waterproof area for potting.
(also makes it SUPER easy to clean up spilled potting soil!)

since i didn't want the bench sitting empty when not in use, i added galvie and clay pots of succulents - they work perfectly in this area, as they need a lot of sun and not much water,

and i can easily move them if i need more workspace. 

an old metal office stool provides me with a place to sit while working,
or another place to put a container while planting.

everything in these photos was already here at home.
i shopped the garage, the yard, and the house to pull the rustic industrial look together
and it didn't cost me a cent!
it was easy to assemble (no nails or screws), serves a very functional purpose, AND
it added a lot of visual interest in what was an empty part of our yard.
that's a project that could grow on ya'! ;) 

i used that potting bench for the following six months, all the way into fall.
then it was taken apart and everything stored away... until this past week.
that's when Mom and i hatched a plan to use that plywood and bar stool configuration
as the basis for a whole new use in our backyard to enjoy this summer!
we're still working on it, and i'll share when it's completed.
(and it has NOTHING to do with plants!)

 don't miss the portable bar that i turned into a potting bench 

pssssst.... wanna' see what i did with this potting bench THIS summer?
it's been reincarnated as a TIKI BAR!