If you've been potting up your plants on makeshift tables around the yard like I have for the past 4 years, then maybe we do have a use for a potting bench. They've always struck me as fanciful gardening extras that old ladies wielding Zimmer frames cling on to - not that there's anything wrong with old ladies OR Zimmer frames!

I've just always assumed that if you have your garden potting shed then a potting bench was a superfluous decoration. But the assumption fails, of course, if you don't have your own garden shed - and most gardeners residing in apartments and units won't.

So the next best thing is to perform all your potting duties in a location that is practical and accessible. Enter stage left - the potting bench!

Like most things you could easily go and buy one (aff.) or, if you're not technically challenged, try making your own.

Mike McClure has designed a great DIY project for building your own potting bench. From the wood sizes, number of screws and bolts to even fitting the legs with plastic caps to avoid rot, this is one How-To that will easily become a How's-That!

The beauty of having a potting bench is that most of your everyday gardening tools and equipment can be kept in the one place. You no longer have to search around for the last place you used your secateurs or where to find some ties when staking your plants. For the OCD's (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) of us, this one tool could streamline our hobby to insurmountable enjoyment levels.

After struggling with different areas in my garden to pot my plants and seedlings, I'm looking forward with eager anticipation to the day when my garden shed will become operational (all that's missing now are the benches). So, if I knew that I would have to wait 4 years before being able to have an area to work from, I certainly would have made my own.