We don’t tend to use the work “faffing” very much in Ireland, or at least not where I come from. Foostering, pottering, they are the words we use. I don’t know about you but I can potter anywhere and or hours if the mood is on me. I even have a particular place for it in the garden, all thanks to the big snow of 2010. We left for Ireland for Christmas just as the snow began to fall. It was our first winter in this house and we didn’t think to take the canopy off the gazebo the previous owners had left behind. With the weight of the snow that fell in our absence, the gazebo collapsed. The Bavarian, hating waste almost as much as I do, came up with the genius idea to build me a potting table from the two still intact corner posts of the old gazebo.

That was back in 2011. Being outside all year for seven years took its toll on my potting table and it was looking rather the worse for wear by the time spring finally arrived in our garden this year. Luckily another mishap led to the rejuvenation of the potting table. I mistakenly bought green chalkboard paint when I went to buy black chalkboard paint for the kitchen. In my haste I didn’t spot my mistake till the tin was open and the paint stirred. Initially I was irritated  at myself for being so hasty and not checking the colour in the shop. Then it struck me that I could use the green paint for the potting table.

I began the whole project by sanding and dusting down the wood. Then I gave everything a coat of the green chalkboard paint. It is suitable for outdoor ping pong tables too, so I reckon is should withstand the weather pretty well. Once the paint dried, I gave some areas a coat of the leftover paint from our library wall. It is a lighter green and more of a sage tone, lightening up the overall look of the potting table. The remainder of the wood got a second coat of chalkboard paint in dark green.

As often happens once you make a change to a room or a piece of furniture, other items around the house and garden suddenly seemed to fit the new colour scheme. My Laura Ashley garden tools from last summer match perfectly and my hanging basket from the entrance to the house was crying out to be included in this refreshed corner of the garden.

The bench the Bavarian salvaged last winter now looked shabby in comparison, so it got given a couple of coats of a pale grey-green paint I picked up in Aldi with the shopping recently. I’m going to repaint the shed door and window frames in that colour too.  With the potting table set up just outside the shed and the bench nearby, facing into the garden, I’ve got quite a nice pott(er)ing corner now. It is amazing the wonders a little bit of pottering can work.

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