Outdoor Furniture Plus' Blog

You can spruce up your patio with an herb garden in planter boxes, regardless of the space you can devote to gardening. If you’ve done much planting, you know that all plants require certain levels of water and sunlight. Herbs are no exception. An herb garden, however, does offer you the advantage of extra hardiness. Many herbs are tough plants that can even withstand drought.

Even so, they do need some water. Slightly dry soil is better than soggy, so don’t overwater. No need to measure the water or anything like that. Just gauge the dampness of the soil in the planter boxes with your fingertip and adjust your water accordingly.

Generally, herbs love sunlight. Therefore, you should position planter boxes on a side of the house where they can enjoy sunlight for a good portion of the day. A shady patio area probably won’t produce a thriving herb garden.

Don’t forget drainage. Line the bottom of the planter boxes with pebbles or a similar material. Top with potting soil, and plant the herbs. You can plant a variety of herbs in the same container. They don’t necessarily need to fall in a straight line, either. By observing the factors of water, sunlight, and drainage, you can do your best to help your herb garden thrive.

An Adirondack chair often provides a rustic feel to an outdoor area. After all, these chairs were originally designed for outdoor use. Take the rustic design even further with the distressed look.

Lightly sand your Adirondack chair and wipe it with a clean cloth to remove dust. Prime, if you wish. Paint the entire chair with a dark shade of flat paint. After allowing the final coat to dry completely, sand again. This time, you will sand only selected areas—the ones that normally show wear first. Focus on the armrests, edges, and feet. Sand lightly, and always stroke in the direction of the wood’s grain. Remove only a little paint as you sand.

To finish, wipe the chair down again with a clean cloth. Apply a clear sealant suitable for outdoor furniture. This top coat should preserve your work and maintain the distressed look you have achieved with your Adirondack chair. Avoid glossy sealants because these will look too new for a more rustic garden design.

Allow the sealant to dry fully before you expose the Adirondack chair to the elements or attempt to use it. You can use the same distressed-look technique to coordinate other pieces of outdoor furniture, including tables, ottomans, and benches.

You find many reasons to incorporate a potting table into your patio area. One of these reasons may be to improve your organization. If so, you should keep your eyes out for extra features that can offer the most storage solutions.

Almost every potting table incorporates shelves into its design. Look for shelves in a variety of widths. Wide, sturdy shelves can hold heavier items, such as bags of soil. Smaller shelves help you organize gardening tools, seed packets, and so on.

Other storage features that vary by model include hooks and drawers. Hooks provide easy storage solutions for everything from aprons and gloves to trowels and other hand tools. Not every potting table contains drawers, but these can be a handy aid to organization. A junk drawer for your patio? Yes, indeed. Add a few small plastic bins or a desk organizer, and you’ve got a safe place to stow jewelry while you garden. You can also store other small items, such as garden pictures you’ve ripped from magazines.

If you’re tired of hunting for scattered supplies in a garage or shed, think about a potting table. Organization really is possible with the help of a potting table. Once you’ve organized everything, the hard work is done. You just have to put each item back in its place when you’re done working. Or, maybe you need to train everyone else in the house to return the items they borrow . . .