My Christmas present!

So, you may have noticed that I haven't been around as much the past few days (at least Allison noticed!). Here's where I've been...one of my Christmas presents from my husband is a potting bench that he planned, designed, and built. I've been helping, watching, and oohing and aahing over it for the past several days. Here are pictures of it. (To make it AV related, I'll be repotting some of them here! LOL)

This is a shot of the whole thing. My husband plumbed it so that we will connect a water hose from the spigot around front to the right side of the bench. A pipe goes up to the top of the right side where I have a hand held watering hose. The pipe goes through the underside cabinet to the left side where I have a spigot to connect another water hose, and there is a hose hanger for that water hose. He also put a plant hanger on the left side and a thermometer. He bought me two copper baskets for "stuff" and an angel to watch over me, hanging in the middle. The doors each have a lock on the latch so I can keep my systemic drench and other poisons locked up so I don't have to worry about children or animals getting into them.

Here's a shot from the left side. The wood was really wet when we bought it, so it has a bit of mold/mildew on it, but Tuesday we're going to scrub it down good with deck wash and get all that off of it.

Another one from the front. See where that section of the top toward the right side has been removed? He made that panel removable and put a Rubbermaid tub beneath it to hold my potting soil.

Here's a picture with that panel removed. You can see the tub for potting soil, drainage holes with copper pipe through them so any rain or water that gets in can drain out, and the watering platform made of pieces of copper pipe. I can set pots there and water them and the runoff won't get all over the countertop of the bench. I love it! Some of the copper is discolored, but we'll be cleaning that Tuesday, too.

Here's one of the watering platform. He put the copper pipe close enough together so even small pots will sit and be stable.

Here are the copper drain pipes next to the Rubbermaid tub, which come out and drain beneath the watering platform.

This is it with the doors open. The platform that the Rubbermaid tub sits in is purposely mounted on an angle for drainage purposes. That way, if rainwater gets in, or if I need to rinse spilled dirt out, it runs out on its own.

And finally, here's the angel my husband bought to watch over me. He is absolutely the best! Such a sweetie! I couldn't ask for more!
Hope you all enjoyed my picture show of my Christmas present.
Happy growing!
RG

Very very nice!!! I want one! I'm sure you'll enjoy it, and it was very thoughtful of him to know how much you will enjoy it!

Sanna

Wow, I'm impressed. : ) Really cool. Your hubby does good work.

WOW Breath taking :)) Just wonderful ! Wish I had one ! did he use speical plans ? You do have a wonderful husband ! Now is it treated wood and kept outside ?

Wonderful...that is quite a gift.

Deb

Thank you all for the compliments! I'm so proud of it!
Alison, he designed the plans himself. He drew out what he wanted me to have, checked with me to see if he had included everything I wanted, and started building it. Not to be bragging, but he really is very gifted and talented when it comes to building things (though he would deny it) - well, anything artistic at all, really. Building, remodeling, drawing, all that. He's very creative, and has wonderful ideas for little "extras" and how to implement them. I, on the other hand, couldn't draw my way out of a wet paper bag! LOL
It is treated wood, which is one of the reasons it was so wet. We plan to put some type of finish on it this summer once it has had time to dry and season, probably just a good sanding and several coats of polyurethane. It is just outside our back door (which is the only door we use), at the side of the patio, next to the house.
Thanks for sharing in my excitement!
RG

It's awesome ! WOW your so lucky ! May you enjoy it for many,many Years :))

Fabulous! He really put a lot of good thought into the design -- love the angled platform for the tub & all those great little finishing touches like the hanger for a basket! The location is wonderful, too!

Yes an the Angel to watch over you and plant hanger. Every touch is wonderful :))

WOW! I believe that is the nicest potting bench that I've ever seen! Just a thought, but I imagine that he would be able to find a market for those!

BEAUTIFUL! Enjoy it...

RG:
Wonderful...that is quite a gift ~~~ AND SO IS YOUR HUBBY!
FABULOUS!
Bets

That is a great gift :) Congrats!

What a great gift. You will enjoy it for years to come.

that is a wonderful gift...and a masterpiece....know you will be using it many times...it is so handsome and functional...congrats to you and your husband.

That is a wonderfu gift! I have been wanting to design one and get someone to build it for me...what wonderful ideas he had! I know you will just love it and enjoy it for years!
Janet

Holy cow! DH deserves a big AV round of applause!! Way to go! Has he considered drawing up the plans and posting them on the web or sharing them somehow? It's a super design. My favorite part is the copper pipe drain table portion! Smart!

Gee Whiz! What great compliments everyone! I'll be sure to pass them along to my husband. :o) Thank you all! He's very modest, and I try to tell him how nice something that he has built is, but he just brushes it off and says I'm just saying that. LOL
I'm very flattered that he put so much time and work into it. This was the best present he could have given me and I'll get tons of use out of it. I also got a bird feeder (squirrel proof - it has a copper "cage that comes down over the feeding holes because of the squirrel's weight, but I have another one that they can get to and eat out of), two hummingbird feeders, and some fabulous wind chimes, tuned to the key of E. I didn't think he took seriously how "into" gardening I've gotten, but clearly he did!
PlantMom, I told him the same thing - that I thought he could make and sell them, but it would have to be an onsight build, because it is HEAVY!
Betsy, thank you! I think he's a wonderful gift, too! AND I love the potting bench! LOL
begonia, that copper watering platform is my favorite part, too. I love copper (which he contributed to with the baskets and thermometer) and I think it's beautiful made out of that pipe. I mentioned sharing his plans, but he didn't say much. Yet again, his modesty takes over. :oP LOL I'll ask him about it again after I show him all the praise everyone has showered on him. He's already busied himself designing beds for our kids with storage drawers under them. There was an ad for some at Walmart that I mentioned I liked and thought the kids would find useful. We looked at them and he wasn't satisfied, so he's planning on building them. He does construction and remodeling as a side job, in addition to his regular full-time job, but this is the slow season, so if he doesn't get any jobs in the next month or so, he'll probably get the beds built. I'll post pictures when he finishes those, if anyone would be interested to see them. I want a coffee table/ottoman, too, so I'm hoping I can get him to build one of those, as well. Upholstered on top, because one of our dogs thinks she's too good to sleep on the floor, with a shelf beneath. All that said to say, I have told him I think he could sell his designs/plans for furniture and other items, or even the furniture itself. Maybe I can convince him to do so one day (but I'll share the plans for the potting bench here on DG! LOL)
Again, thank you all for your compliments! I'm very proud of him and it makes me happy to see that others appreciate his attention to detail the way I do. Hugs to you all!
RG

Very nice!

Amy how many plants did you say you can fit on your shelf without them touching !!!

Would they be better on my windowsills (south and west facing) or on the plant shelf under the lights?

Any where and every where :)) I have some on an 8ft windowsill shelf my hubby made but after 1 pm blinds must be closed but light still flows in :))
I have them in the other windows in the room even the carport side where there are shade trees but the morning sun comes bright and cheery and it they get low light... I use the kitchen windows the garden room windows, any where there's and end table , lamp table, windowsill or shelf African violets do well :)) They grow well under lights too. I have read Miniatures grow better under light but they do better for me and bloom all the time in natural light.
I fount this great link and gave it to Laurie so it's in the Sticky it's very interesting how to grow Chiritas :)) It's tells how they grow in between rocks and don't need much space. A plant can be happy in the same pot 2-3 years...
http://www.maavs.org/html/growing_cheritas.htm

I have good windowsills everywhere. We replaced all our windows a couple years ago, and I had my husband put in good, wide windowsills so I would have room for plants. All those plus the plant stand mean I have room for tons of plants.
I'm going to be thinning out my regular house plants soon, too. I got a bunch when the stores were clearing them out for winter. I have had them long enough to decide which ones I really like and which ones I could live without, so the ones I can live without and the duplicates I'm going to be offering for trade here soon. I want more flowering houseplants. The vast majority of mine are foliage plants, except for my one AV and a cyclamen. I also have 5 hoyas who spitefully refuse to bloom, and I just killed a perfectly lovely mini rose. There are three begonias which are suffering. I'm going to repot them to see if that helps, and if not, perhaps someone here will offer them a home where they'll flourish. Wish I could figure out what they are lacking, cause I sure would like an 'Escargot' begonia.
All that said to say, I'd never ask you to send all I have room for! LOL

Oh I have seen pictures of 'Escargot' ! It's a beauty .
Begonia would know how to help you save it. I only have a few Begonias only one growing in our home. I love them but not much room but may get some more for outside on the deck and they grow well here in the ground.
African violets and all their cousins are great for blooming plants all year long !
I just love growing them on windowsills ! I do feel the plant stands and lights are great for leaves and babies...my smaller plants. I do have some larger ones under lights and when they get full of blossoms I put them around our home to enjoy :))
I'm sorry we put your plants all together on trays to package but just not able to do them. But they will be packaged for sure tomorrow. I'm sure they will put a dent on your nice wide pretty windowsills :))

Don't worry about it Allison! Whenever you get around to it is fine. :o) Don't rush yourself. I'll hold the 'sill space for them. :o)

Packaging tomorrow is our goal ! I am excited about getting them to you :))

I would be afraid to leave it outside!
Gorgeous.

Allison, I'm excited about getting them! :o)

James, it's treated wood, so I'm not worried about that. It's still very wet from being treated, and it got rained on a little bit, too, so once it dries good we'll polyurethane it. And it's waaaay too heavy for anyone to steal it. My husband had to move it away from the house to do something to it, and I couldn't help him. I couldn't even lift it enough to scoot it. Thanks for the compliment! :o)

RG, come post your Begonia woes in the begonia forum along with photos we'll see what we can do. IF my Escargot get big enough to divide later on , I'll let you know. I have two nice big ones, but did a majoy boo boo a few weeks ago with some slug bait pellets that when wet, turned to big green mounds of fuzzy mold which promptly rotted some of my babies. Grrrrr. That was one of my more brilliant moves!! I don't usually use that brand, but bought it in a pinch.

This shot shows one of the smaller ones in the lower right corner.

trying not to get O/T here, so we can always continue in the Begonia corner. = )

I got a long awaited grant for a ramp small deck paper work took about a year, hurricanes took awhile to get it builded but I finaly had it last early Spring and it looked wonderful decorated for Christmas too :))
Point lol it's also made out of treated wood to code strong and of course outside ...so I understand about your gorgeous Potting Bench. It's remarkable treasured gift you will enjoy forever :)) Allison

Did anybody hear that thud? I'm now picking my jaw up off the floor.... Begonia, we need to see more photos of your plant collection!! Hmmm.... if I want to go OT like this, I'd better pay attention to my own advice & start a new thread! Please see http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/567089/

psst... Critter here's my sanctuary!

http://www.cutebassethounds.com/ghse.jpg
(it is of course more full of plants now, with winter and all)

(dsl recommended)
This is a bit out dated, but here's some of my collection,
http://www.cutebassethounds.com/blog_shots/my_begonias/

And to prove that I grow more than begonias
http://www.cutebassethounds.com/blog_shots/gard_shot1/

http://www.cutebassethounds.com/blog_shots/gard_shot2/


Sorry Raingazer, we really need a sticky just for chatter.

Now, why would you apologize when you're posting pictures like that? Those are beautiful! I'll try to snap some shots of the begonias tonight and put them on the Begonia forum. They're the ones I asked for ID on a while back.
We went to Walmart today and they had their AVs on clearance for 97c each, so I bought 4. I also got what I believe is a tiny begonia for 78c. I'll get pics of these posted later, too. What I can't figure out though, is these were on clearance, but last week when I was at this same Walmart, they didn't HAVE any AVs or the begonias. Oh well, I'm not one to pass up a good deal!

Oh Begonia beautiful plants WOW so many how do you ever keep them all watered them all ?