Sheds And Storage

Love to work in your garden, but need a place to store those tools and pot those plants? Maybe you’re fed up with having a garage full of tools and gardening equipment, or want an outside area for DIY jobs. Or maybe you are a keen gardener that needs to replace a 30-year-old potting shed that’s falling down.

With a garden shed, you don’t have to go back and forth to the basement or garage. You are also more likely to take better care of your tools. Once you have a garden shed, you will find that you can use your garden shed storage for much more than just a place to hang up gardening tools and store away other garden equipment. You may use it as a workshop and for non-garden things like Christmas decorations. It does not matter what the garden shed storage was made for – it only matters what you want to use it for.

Design

Garden sheds can be small or large in size, and they are used for storing tools and equipment like lawn mowers, gardening supplies and tools. The variety of sizes, shapes, styles and designs is literally endless, ranging from a simple, small structure for keeping your gardening tools dry, to a back yard barn large enough to house a large lawn tractor, all the family’s bicycles, boating gear, and still leave enough room for other tools. There are designs that match any architectural style perfectly, and if you don’t find exactly what you need, you can have one custom designed. A good garden shed design is both practical and beautiful. If you’re confident enough to build the shed from scratch, you’ll need to start with a good garden shed design.

Think about what materials or functions you will need from your shed. Will you need large bins to hold compost, potting soil, mulch, and other bulky garden materials? Shelves that store pots and indoor potting benches give you an easy place to repot your transplants even when it’s raining outside. A small, outdoor storage shed or potting shed can be a big advantage. Features such as pull-out potting tables, shelves or windows are also handy options.

Function

The most important thing to consider with any garden shed is what it will be used for. Will you use it for potting seedlings? Or just as storage? Would you rather use your shed as a workshop or a potting area? If you are thinking of using it as some kind of potting area, you might want to consider what is known as a potting shed. These are little structures that are the perfect size for potting up hundreds of fragile seedlings.

If you want to use your garden shed as a potting shed or a “retreat” then you will need a window. Make sure your garden shed can easily hold a potting bench, soil and amendments, garden tools, and pots. A potting shed will certainly earn its keep during the spring, but can you justify taking up valuable yard space year round for a building that may not be used again for nine more months?

You will certainly get more for your money if you combine a potting area with a storage area. Most garden shed plans will have sections that are closed off so that you can either use them as potting benches or alternatively as storage areas for different garden tools. Make sure you have enough space to work in. If you have to remove a lawn mower, garden cart, and other tools before you can work at your potting bench or screen your compost, your garden shed will not be as useful as you had hoped. Some gardeners prefer a built-in potting bench, while others prefer a wheeled bench so they can work outdoors in good weather and indoors when it rains.

Combine these ideas about design and function with the previous pages on shed materials and you are sure to make an informed decision when choosing your garden shed.