It is the Year of The Potting Shed – Don’t Be Left Without One

The Year of the Potting Shed

Sitting somewhere between a conventional shed and a greenhouse, the potting shed was for too long overlooked and undervalued.

Homeowners, searching for a strong and hardwearing garden storage facility, traditionally turned to its alpha-male big brother, the conventional shed, to satisfy their needs.

Gardeners, desperate to secure those few extra degrees of winter heat for their beloved plants, typically found themselves seduced by the glamour of its younger sister, the greenhouse, with her slender frame and see-through panels leaving little to the imagination.

Lost in this garden ‘no man’s land’, a lesser building might have accepted its fate and vanished into obscurity, but not the potting shed.

For those in the know have always seen the true value of this wonderful structure, and now more people are catching on. Many more people. So many, in fact, that 2018 promises to be the start of a new era in gardening: the beginning of the reign of the potting shed.

Potting sheds vs conventional sheds and greenhouses

The Benefits of a Potting Shed

Really, the potting shed’s growing appeal should not come as a surprise. With the robust structure of a traditional wooden shed, these tough buildings are not going to crack or splinter if hit by an errant pebble, accidentally kicked up off the floor. However, with a large expanse of glazing, often made from near-unbreakable styrene, covering one whole side of the structure, neither are they dark, dank places full of spiders and unseen hazards.

For potting sheds are everything, to all people. With three wooden sides, a felt-covered roof, and a lockable door, like conventional sheds, they will keep expensive gardening tools shielded from the elements and safe from would-be pilferers. Combine this protection with a large expanse of transparent material (make it south facing) and you have an environment that is warmer in winter than a greenhouse, making it a far better place to nurture young plants.

What’s more, that combination of wood and glazing gives them huge aesthetic appeal. Not in a showy, dolled-up greenhouse type of way, but more in the fashion of an understated English ‘country rose’.

Click on the images for more product detail:

10x11 Rowlinson Corner Potting Store

10x6 Traditional Potting Shed from Shedstore

Windsor Wooden Combi Greenhouse

The Potting Shed Experience

Still not convinced about the merits of the potting shed? Then picture this scene…

It’s a Saturday afternoon in early spring and you’re looking out from your potting shed’s large expanse of near-unbreakable styrene windows into the garden. A robin and blackbird are hopping about on the fence, tussling over a scrap of food. You smile in amusement and contentment. You wouldn’t have been able to witness this through the pokey little window of your old, conventional shed.

In the background, you can hear the radio commentary of your favourite football team’s match, as the season begins to reach its exciting climax. Behind you is a shelf that you’ve erected, containing a few of your favourite gardening books. Your fleece and some of your larger gardening tools are hanging on pegs next to them (have you ever tried to erect shelves or coat hooks in a greenhouse?). 

a person potting a plant

2 small trowels, a small garden fork and 2 plants in potsplants growing in pots and seed trays

Potting Benches

The potting shed’s integral potting bench is stood in front of you. It’s at exactly the right height for you to work comfortably. On its shelf are a couple of containers, which you’ve just cleaned and will soon fill with compost. You’ve spilt a bit but you’re not worried, for the potting shed’s floor is so much easier to clean than the patio. The drawer to your right is full of seed packets, which you’re about to sow. Although not as warm as the house, the potting shed is a much more pleasant temperature than the chilly outdoors, especially now that you’ve got that little heater working again.

Yes, your prized plants will appreciate it too. They’ll get the best possible start in life. You’ve placed the heater on your left-hand side, in between the large bucket containing all the bulbs and the new strimmer. It’s so nice to have all of your gardening ‘stuff’ in one place, rather than dashing between shed, garage and greenhouse. It makes you feel much more organised and efficient.

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Forest Garden Potting Bench Table from Shedstore

kitchen garden trough wooden planter

The kettle has just boiled. It’s time for a break. You hear a miss-hit football crash into the door. It briefly disturbs the peace but not to worry…there’s no harm done; you’re not in a glass greenhouse, after all. You sit down on your little wooden stool, next to the outdoor furniture that you’ve stored away, ready for the summer, and contemplate your gardening plans for the year ahead.

Yes, with your new potting shed proudly positioned in the corner of the garden, it promises to be a real vintage.

Don’t miss out on what promises to be a great year’s gardening. A potting shed offers you everything you need, so why not select one from Shedstore’s fantastic range of potting sheds for sale today?

The shed and greenhouse are dead; long live the potting shed.