Potting bench from scrap wood

I recently went down a YouTube rabbit hole, emerging triumphant from the other end with the confidence to attempt to build a potting bench for my greenhouse. My ‘toxic trait’ as the kids say, is seeing someone do something on the internet, and assuming I can do the same. This time, I was watching Ana White, who lives in Alaska and builds her own furniture. She gives away free plans on her website, and her YouTube channel shows the step-by-step of how to assemble each project. She makes it all seem very achievable, talking as she builds about different methods you can try depending on what tools you own, and contemplating how someone doing a project by themselves might manage versus someone with a second pair of hands.

In a YouTube world where DIY channels are often run by old, white, dudes making patronising and mildly misogynistic comments (“the missus is always getting at me for leaving the loo seat up but I’m not sitting down to pee” <insert eyeroll emoji here>), it’s refreshing to find a female-lead channel that is down to earth and to the point. There are no sexist asides about ‘erindoors, and the sound and video quality is generally good (another criticism of the sad dad brigade is their terrible videography skills, poor audio quality and general air of ‘that’ll do’ to their channels. And yet thousands subscribe, I don’t get it).

Ana has dozens of plans on her website, I’ve already bookmarked the work bench, garage shelving, and Adirondack chairs. For this project, I wanted to use up scrap and remnant wood I had hanging around in the garage. There were leftovers from the compost bin (be sure to listen to that podcast episode!), pieces from broken furniture (the back board is the headboard of the previous owner’s bed), and flotsam washed up in the garage from our general renovation work. I also hoarded some hardware from our old flat, and made use of it on this bench in the form of hanging rails and hooks.

As you can see, I had to Frankenstein some of these pieces together, to get the lengths I needed for the project. It’s sturdy enough for now, but it’ll be interesting to see how it fares over time. Someone on Instagram suggested raising it up off the soil to minimise the risk of the legs rotting, which is a great use for some broken paving slabs I found in the garden.

The worried looking bearded man carving was left behind by the previous owners, in the wood store for the fireplace, if you can believe that. No wonder he looks worried. He has a German name inscribed on the back, but so far my googling hasn’t revealed much. Enjoy this photo of my slightly gormless-looking face, attempting to emulate his anxious expression. I hung him on the potting bench and I like that I can see him from the kitchen window. It feels like he’s bringing good garden and DIY vibes, and he reminds me of my Grandad John, who was also a gardening and woodworking enthusiast. I hope he’ll be very happy in my greenhouse.

As ever, thank you for listening! I appreciate all your comments, likes, Buy me a Coffees, and DMs.