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Gardeners' play stations: two perfect places to exercise your green thumb, whether you're a dabbler or a devotee

Sunset, Feb, 2008 by Julie Chai

For the dabbler

Rustic and compact, the potting table pictured above is perfect for casual or beginning gardeners: It's basic, movable, and has just enough storage for a few pots. Tom Ecklund of Sebastopol, California, built the table of reclaimed redwood, incorporating a vintage window as a backboard for framing a view and a counter with a removable enameled-metal basin. The diluted exterior acrylic paint gives it a weathered look that's right at home in a cottage-style landscape. From $250; sonomagardendesigns.com or 707/823-2438.

Well-designed work surface

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At 25 inches deep, 34 inches high, and 42 inches wide, it's a good size for most gardeners to handle simple potting chores. A removable basin slips into a hole at one end and rests on its wide rim. It has no drain, so it can collect any soil spilled while potting for reuse; it's also great for watering small containers.

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Handy hook

Attached to a table leg, it keeps a whisk broom at the ready for quick cleanups. It also can be used to hang a work shirt, hand towel, or trowel.

Open shelves

The lower one holds an aluminum trash can filled with soil, plus a basket of hand tools and gardening gloves. The upper one is just wide enough for stacks of 4- to 6-inch pots, keeping them within arm's reach.

For the devotee

Stylish, solid, and as functional as kitchen cabinetry, this built-in garden center features ample storage and the kind of forgiving work surface that experienced gardeners appreciate. After searching for the ideal potting table without success, Jim and Jane Rawlinson of Woodacre, California, designed one to include all the features they wanted. They poured a concrete pad between two existing deck posts to set it on, then built it of tongue-and-groove redwood over several weekends for about $1,000 in materials. The table features an ultra-durable counter, running water, and plenty of room for supplies.

Open shelf

Regularly used items such as seed packets, plant labels, and rock mulches are conveniently located above the counter.

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Porcelain sink

Running water makes it easy to moisten soil, mist seeds, and clean vegetables (Jim Rawlinson connected the faucet to an existing irrigation line). The sink drains into the garden.

Stainless steel work surface

Smooth and durable, the 25- by 79-inch counter stands up to use, resists rust, and makes cleanup a snap. The Rawlinsons had it cut and molded by a kitchen-stove fabricator.

Closed storage

Cupboards keep large items (like bagged potting soil and fertilizer) and smaller items (like Jane Rawlinson's garden journal) out of sight and protected from the elements.

Pullout shelves

Black copper containers by Neometrics ($37; plantcontainers.com or 866/342-3330) and terracotta seed pans (from $14; kinsmangarden.com or 800/733-4146) can't hide on gliding shelves.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROB D. BRODMAN

*DOWNLOAD FREE PLANS FOR A DIY POTTING BENCH: sunset.com/pottingbench

Gardeners' play stations: two perfect places to exercise your green thumb, whether you're a dabbler or a devotee

Sunset, Feb, 2008 by Julie Chai

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