French Country Spring Potting Table

The potting table on the back porch has a French Country look for Spring this year. Ivy wreaths, vintage French zinc seed pots, and a wire mesh birdcage remind me of authentic garden tables in the French countryside. 

Morning sunlight reaches blue lobelia bedding plants on the potting table, but the covered porch shades plants from the late afternoon sun. 

F R E N C H   C O U N T R Y 

s p r i n g   p o t t i n g   t a b l e 

Usually the Spring potting table on the back porch is filled with blooming bedding plants, but this year there are only two blue lobelia plants. I have not been to the garden centers this Spring due to sheltering at home. 

My sister put on the protection gear. You know, the mask and gloves, to make a trip to the local outdoor gardening store for a few bedding plants. It's not Spring at my house without blue lobelias, and she shared a couple of lobelia plants with me for my potting table.   

Gardening is in our DNA, passed down from grandparents and parents, and practiced every Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Not getting to buy new bedding plants does not stop us from gardening anyway. 


Using a few ideas from my French Country spring potting table, you can also do a little Spring gardening at your house without all new bedding plants! 

Gardeners have to garden whatever the season or whatever else is happening in life. Gardens give us purpose, hope, and joy. 

Filling our minds and hands with tasks gives us purpose. When old routines vanish, gardening helps fill the void and creates new routines. 

Working with plants gives us hope for the future. Seeing their new growth reminds us life goes on. There is a tomorrow. 

Seeing the results of gardening gives us joy. Beautiful plants artfully arranged in the ground, in pots, or in flower vases cheer our spirits.

❦

How to garden without new bedding plants?

Instead of all new plants, I spruced up the porch potting table with existing plants. 

Ivy and hosta plants. 

Last year these ivy wreaths looked bedraggled, stripped of leaves, and gasping for life, with bare vines intertwined around wire ring forms.  Only a few struggling leaves lived at the base of each plant. Spider mites, over watering, and under watering had taken their toll on these ivy wreaths. 

A combination of morning sunshine and afternoon shade is a perfect environment for ivy and hosta plants. 

Scattered across the open decks and the greenhouse during the Fall and Winter, the plants were isolated from each other to prevent spider mites from spreading to other plants. A thorough washing, a mild winter, abundant rain, fertilizer, and sunshine brought these ivy topiary plants back to life. 

A variety of containers 

New small hosta plants came from existing crowded planters of hostas. A twig basket adds texture to the collection of plants on the potting table. 

Blue pots add a spot of my favorite color and complement the blue lobelia flowers. 

The solid blue pot started out as a terracotta pot. With just a little paint, I transformed it into my favorite color. Take a look around your house. You may have a terracotta pot and some left-over paint in your favorite color. 

Trailing variegated ivy in a hanging twig basket adds height to the potting table arrangement. 

A small ivy wreath sits in a concrete planter with a feather pattern. 

A vintage French zinc seed pot holds one of the lobelia plants inside a wire mesh birdcage. Adding a French Country touch only takes one or two small seed zinc pots. You probably can find these online. Online shopping to the rescue! 

Using existing plants, two new flowering plants, and a variety of containers, the potting table on the porch has a French Country garden look this Spring. 

Recipe for a Spring Potting Table 

Look around your house at what you have. Divide some existing green plants, paint existing terracotta pots in a favorite color, collect several green plants together (do not overlook small shrubs.) Include a vintage garden tool (hand trowel, watering can, floral snips...) Arrange on an outdoor table top for a fresh Spring potting table. 

Take a look at my potting bench  

in other Springs and other seasons. 

Spring Tour | Gardener's Potting Bench  

Spring Potting Bench Flowers

Christmas Potting Bench 

Create a Potting Bench in Coastal Colors 

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Happy Spring, Gardening Friends