Vintage Inspiration: Ideas for Decorating Your Potting Bench

Are you looking for a unique and personalized way to decorate your potting bench? Let me show you how I am decorating a potting bench and filling it with vintage, & thrifty finds plus handmade DIY projects to create a unique look for my garden.

Transforming Your Potting Bench with Unique Decor

No cottage garden is complete without a potting bench. This year I wanted to move mine into my actual garden to have a place to work and store my garden tools.

Today I am going to show you how I’ve updated the potting bench with paint to give it a vintage feel.

Then decorated it with a couple of simple DIY projects, antique garden tools and pots, vintage signage, a weathered wooden crate, flea market finds, and more.

By incorporating vintage-inspired elements, you can add character and style to your garden.

In this post, I’ll share some ideas for using a mix of vintage, thrifted, and handmade DIYs to decorate your potting bench and show you how to create a space that’s uniquely yours.

This post may include affiliate links; you can read my disclosure policy here.

01. Updating A Potting Bench with Paint

The wooden potting bench was looking a little bit distressed from the elements …and was looking a bit sad to tell you the truth! The light coat of stain that it came with had worn and chipped.

To create a vintage look I decided to paint it instead of staining it. I had paint left over from another project and the earthy green color was perfect for the garden. (Sherwin Williams ‘7745 Muddled Basil’)

02. DIY Mini Terracotta Pot Wreath

To decorate the potting bench for the garden I wanted to make a garden-themed wreath.

It was a quick and easy project too! All I used was a small dollar store wire wreath frame, mini terracotta pots, wire, and Spanish moss.

How cute are the teeny pots?? They were left over from the Peter Rabbit themed flower arrangement that I made.

To attach the mini pots to the wreath form I ran a piece of wire through the top and out the bottom of the pot. Then twisted the wire ends together on the back tightening until the terracotta pot felt secure.

For this mini wreath, I had the pots all running in the same direction but you could angle them however you would like.

To hide the wire wreath frame and the wire I filled in the spaces with Spanish moss. All I did was push clumps of the moss through the spaces and between the pots. No glue was necessary for this project.

If the backyard birds are looking to feather their nests then they are welcome to grab a little bit with no problem!! It will be easy to replace.

03. DIY Garland For Potting Bench

To add a fun, whimsical touch to the potting bench I put together an easy DIY garden garland with scrap fabric and ribbon that I can hang across the bench.

This project cost me $0 because I rummaged through my supplies to see what I had that would work for a garden-themed garland.

For the rag garland, I cut 1-inch wide strips from the leg of a pair of old jeans. Then did the same with the rolls of ribbon.

Once I had long strips cut I trimmed the pieces down to about 8 inches long.

The garland is so simple to make. All you need to do is tie the pieces of fabric to a rope or cord in a pattern.

To hang the garland I have hooks on each end of the potting bench. In the Fall I made a pumpkin garland when this potting bench on the front porch.

Decorating The Potting Bench

Now that I made the wreath and garland it was time to gather up a few fun vintage garden pieces that I have collected over the years from visiting flea markets, thrift stores, and antique markets.

One of my latest thrift store finds was this chicken wire basket…how perfect to use in the garden!

The wire basket is the perfect size to hold my little collection of vintage terracotta pots.

Favorite Vintage Finds:

vintage produce sign & antique garden tools

A couple of smaller vintage garden-related items were perfect for adding more cottage-style charm.

The garden tools were found in a local antique store The Collector’s Eye. Last Summer I used them to make a garden wreath.

I’ve had the produce signage for so long that I can’t even remember where I found it.

watering can & pails

My stash of vintage garden goods now has a place for the Summer. This vintage watering can is my best-ever flea market score at only 2 bucks!!

It has been featured on this blog countless times and in every season. It looks great just sitting on the potting bench but is pretty filled with branches too!

The small metal pails are so useful too, I grab one when I am walking through the garden and weeding my raised beds

wooden farm crate & Vintage carrier

On the bottom shelf, I turned a wooden farm crate on its side and placed a rusty ‘ole metal carrier inside.

This cement bird lost its tail…totally my fault, I dropped it (also why it looks extra vintage and chippy!!)

It is so nice having the potting bench inside the garden fence this year. Inside the drawer, I have my hand-weeding tool, snips, and a bag of plant tags & marker so I’m not always wasting time looking for them.

Using The Potting Bench

What better way to christen the potting bench than making a peony arrangement? My garden is just bursting this week with my favorite flower…I just wished they lasted longer than 2 weeks!

I’ve spent the past 2 weeks watching their progress. Every morning I open the blinds and look out the windows to look at the growing buds.

To keep with the vintage feel of this project I popped these beauties in a rusty green pitcher that I found at the Vintage Bazaar New England this past Spring.

Just perfect!! The pink flowers and the aqua green complement each other so well!

One tip when you are cutting peonies to bring in the house is to give the flowers a good shake!! Ants and earwigs like to hide out in between the petals…yuck!!

Watching over the garden is my not-so-scary scarecrow!! This was another fun DIY project to add a whimsical touch to this garden.

With a blend of unique decor ideas, DIY projects, and a sprinkle of old-fashioned charm this potting bench can become a centerpiece of the cottage garden.

It’s so fun to repurpose what you already have or find hidden gems at the thrift store or vintage markets! By doing this you can create a space that really reflects your own style whether in your home or garden.

I hope that I could give you a little inspiration to take with you to use in your own garden when you are decorating a potting bench.

So go ahead and let your creativity bloom, Happy gardening!

xo, Jennifer

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