The Potager

The Potager

Saturday, May 18, 2013

{Potting} Shed

It's a bit damp out today, and the chores I've been doing are mundane, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to show off our shed!
Our shed is over 30 years old, it was by no means new when we bought the house 30 years ago. It was not made by someone skilled in carpentry. I think the previous owner just used whatever he could get free from his job at the racetrack. My husband has tried to fix the horrible flat roof many times, but it had gotten to the point that no matter what he did, the roof leaked. There was so much rotted wood on the shed, the window was broken, there were critters living under it and in it. It was sagging, damp and cluttered -  a place I would go in to grab a tool while making as much noise as I could to scare the squirrels and other creatures away, and leave as quickly as possible!

 You can see how rotted the wood was. We discussed tearing it down and rebuilding it. But the shed was not built according to local code and is too close to the property next door to us, so we would have to relocate it - like in the middle of our driveway.
I tried to convince hubby to tear our old one down and replace it the next day with this lovely shed I saw at the garden show.  If we did it fast enough the town would never notice, right?
But it was a bit expensive for us at this time, and hubby didn't like it. Even though it has a separate potting shed in it with it's own door!
I seriously could live in this shed - it is so dreamy. It even has a storage loft! But Hubby nixed the new shed idea. He decided to fix up our old shed.. and I whined about not having my own potting shed. Because I do that sometimes.
Annoying, I know.
He changed the pitch of the roof, put on a tin roof, replaced the window with a smaller one and replaced all of the rotting wood. He also lifted the shed where it was crooked and straightened the whole thing out. He also cut down a few trees that were leaning against the shed.
We repainted it (I say we - I painted the red one day, Hubby painted everything else over three weekends.) It looks cute, right?
But the best part was the surprise hubby added inside!
My very own potting shed corner! It may not have it's own entrance, but hubby arranged everything so it is easy to walk into. I can find everything and I can work on the bench while looking out the window. I am so happy!
I still need to decorate it a bit, but I love my new area! And while throwing out the clutter in the shed, we found this:
I think it held bits or something similar at one time. It is perfect for holding seed packages. I love rusty old things.
That old galvanized bucket I got from my Dad last year holds my small gardening tools and is easy to carry to the garden. 
So thanks to Hubby's talent, our old shed should serve us until our old age, I have my potting shed, and we don't have to worry about permits or code enforcers. Life is good!



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