There are potting bench ideas that can suit one need or many different needs. Whether you use a plan or design the bench yourself, you can make it match your tastes. The garden is an important part of the yard. When you have a potting bench, it makes working in the garden so much easier.

You can keep all your tools by the bench and repot plants from the nursery. The best way to make a bench for the garden is with wood and other things you might have around the house or something you find at a garage sale. You can make portable or stationary potting benches.

Stationary Potting Bench Ideas

Stationary potting benches are nice for patios where you want to work in the sun or the shade. These benches can have drawers for supplies as well as one or more shelves for storage. The nice thing about these types of potting benches is that they can be used for multiple projects.

The top part of the bench could be used as a little green house for starting new plants. This is ideal for those who like to grow there own plants instead of buying them from a nursery.

How to Make the Stationary Potting Bench

Things you will need:

Ten 4x4's six feet long

One piece of plywood – for the bottom shelf, tabletop and greenhouse bottom)

Thirty-two screws- two inches long

One single stainless steel sink (find at a garage sale or demolition site)

Plexiglas- large enough to make the top, sides, front and back of the green house

Four smaller hinges for the front Plexiglas doors

Two cabinet doorknobs (find at a garage sale or demolition site)

Screwdriver

Step 1

Cut two front legs and two longer back legs to accommodate the bench top and the top shelf greenhouse. (52L x (72H back legs) (50H front legs) x 30W) Cut 6 side braces (22 inches) out of the 4x4s to fit between the legs. Cut 4 4x4's to fit between the front and back of the bench legs on the bottom, bench top and greenhouse shelf (44 inches).

Cut 2 4x4 pieces to support the front of the greenhouse from the bench top to the greenhouse top (12 inches, measure to confirm length needed from bench top to the top of the back leg top).

Step 2

Lay the two pieces for the front legs down and attach the front center brace with two screws on each side. Then do the same for the back legs. The braces should be about three feet from the ground.

Step 3

Attach the center brace to one side of the back leg and the other side to the front leg. Do the same for the other side. Use two screws on each side. Then attach the center brace between the front and back legs for the bench top.

Step 4

Attach the greenhouse front braces to the bench top. Use two screws on each brace. Screw the braces from the bottom of the bench top. Attach the greenhouse front legs to the 4x4 braces on the side braces of the bench top.

Step 5

Attach a front center, back center and the two side braces to form the bottom of the greenhouse. Then attach the front, back and side braces for the top of the greenhouse. These braces should be even with the front and back leg tops.

Step 6

Measure the stainless steel sink and make the appropriate cut in the bench top on the far left or right side. Insert the sink and use chalking to seal the sink edge on the bench top.

Step 7

Measure the Plexiglas and cut to fit the sides and back of the greenhouse area. The cut the top piece and attach to the top of the legs. Drill holes in the Plexiglas and attach to the 4x4 legs with screws. Cut a front piece from leg to leg and then cut in half.

Attach each side to the legs with two hinges on each side. Drill a single hole in each section for the doorknobs. Seal the edges with a clear chalk if needed. Do not do this on the front, only on the sides and back.

Step 8

Cut the bench top, greenhouse floor and the bottom shelf out of the plywood. Measure to fit.

Finishing Touches

You can stain or paint the potting bench to protect the wood from the weather. If you do use a stain, you will want to treat the wood with a repellant of some type. If you are painting the bench, you can add a polyurethane coat to repel water.

Photo by Susie- Creative Commons Attribution License