DIY Network

Two Benches Two Benches From "Weekend Landscaping" episode WKL-411

Figure A

Our homeowner wants to create a kitchen garden that reflects the very specific style of his mid-twentieth-century house: angular, wood-based, prominent in the landscape (figure A). Even though most kitchen gardens in America are functional places, they can scraggly and not very attractive. So without creating a fussy French potager or a cute English country-style kitchen garden, we'll make a garden that fits the '60s house it belongs to. Host Jessie Mack Burns will build stacked, cantilevered planting boxes and a planting-bench area that echo the house's architecture and then add midcentury geometric art to the retaining walls. She also plants lots of veggies in the raised planting boxes, as well as citrus trees in giant pots with an underplanting of lettuces.

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Skill level: 3

Time needed: 16 hours

Region: South

Hard supplies and tools
Power tools
Standard gardening tools
Wood for trellis frame
Wood and composite wood for table
Composite wood for planting bed boxes
Pots for citrus trees
Outdoor fabric for privacy under table storage
Outdoor furniture
Mulch

Plant material
Tricolor sage (Salvia officinalis)
Grower's Friend sage (Salvia officinalis)
Variegated thyme (Thymus x citriodorus variegata)
Dark Opal basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Purpurascens')
Basil Profumo di Genova (Basilicum ocimum)
Tuscan Blue rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis 'Tuscan Blue')
English mint, a.k.a. llerba buena (Mentha x piperita)
Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
Lemon mint (Mentha citrata)
Onion chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Crookneck squash (Cucurbita moschata)
Black Beauty eggplant (Solanum melongena var. esculentum)
Calendula (pot marigold) 'Dwarf Orange' (Calendula officinalis 'Dwarf Orange')
Pansy 'Crown Blue' (Viola x wittrockiana 'Crown Blue')
Tomato Cherry 'Isis Candy' (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme)
Silver Queen sweet corn (Zea mays var. rugosa )
Sweet white onion (Allium cepa)
Lettuce 'Green Oakleaf' (Lactuca sativa)
Lettuce 'Red Oakleaf' (Lactuca sativa)
Lettuce 'Parris Island' (Romaine) (Lactuca sativa )
Moro blood orange (Citrus sinensis 'Moro')
Lisbon lemon (Citrus limon 'Lisbon')
Dwarf Bearrs seedless lime (Citrus aurantiifolis 'Dwarf Bearrs Seedless')
Tropicanna canna (Canna indica 'Phaison')
Tropicanna Gold canna (Canna indica 'Mactro')
Variegated Japanese mock orange (Pittosporum tobira 'Variegatum')
Little Grapette dwarf daylily (Hemerocallis x 'Little Grapette')

Potting Bench

Every garden needs a potting area, be it a shed or just a cleverly constructed bench with plenty of storage underneath. This bench, attached to the preexisting cinderblock wall, will fit the bill nicely. It's constructed of 2x4s; our bench will be 6' long, but the length of yours may differ according to the size of the space in which you build it.

Materials (sizes approximate)
One composite 4x4, 6' long (wall cleat)
Six composite 2x4s, 6' long (tabletop)
Three redwood 2x6s, 21" long (bottom cleats)
Four 4x4s, the finished height of the table minus 3"
2-1/2" and 4" screws

1. Determine the height at which you want to place the bench and mark it on the wall. Measure down from this mark 3" to allow for the thickness of the bench top, including cleats. At this height, draw a level line 6' long (figure B).

2. Drill a hole at each end and insert an anchor into each (figure C).

Figure B

Figure C

3. Fasten the cleat to the wall with lag bolts (figure D). This will provide a solid base to support the bench.

4. For the potting bench Jessie first lines up the six composite 2x4s side by side, leaving a narrow gap between them for drainage (figure E), and then attaching them together with the three 2x6 redwood cleats (figure F).

Figure D

Figure E

Figure F

Figure G

Expert tip: (John Kerr, building expert) When screwing together composite material, I would recommend using a fastener that is designed for composites. These fasteners generally have fewer threads, thus making the job a lot easier.

Once the tabletop is built, it must be attached to the wall. To do this, rest the tabletop on the cleat and position the legs underneath (figure G), making sure that everything is level. Then simply screw the legs through the cleats to the tabletop.

	Figure H
	Figure I
	Figure J

Sitting Bench

Every gardener wants to enjoy the fruits of his labors, sometimes just by relaxing in the middle of all the growing plants, so next Jessie and her helpers build a bench just for sitting (with a bit of storage under the seat).

Materials (sizes approximate)
Four 2x6s, 16" long
Two 2x4s, 16" long
Four 4x4s, 16" long
Four 2x6s, 5' long
Two 2x4s, 5' long
Two 2x9s or three 2x6s, 5'6" long
Two 2x6s, 10" long

1. Start with the legs: Lay out two pieces of 16" 2x6 and one of 2x4, sandwiching the narrower piece in the middle. Attach them securely to a 14" length of 4x4 at either end (figure H). Repeat for the second leg.

2. For the front and back of the bench, creating the same pattern as you used on the legs, attach a 5' 2x4 between two 5' 2x6s (figure I) to the cleats to form a box (figure J).

3. To make the top of the bench, use two 10" 2x64 cleats to attach two 5'6" 2x8s (or three 2x6s) together. Be sure to place the cleats so they will fit inside the box to hold the lid firmly in place.

Time spent: 5 hours.

RESOURCES :

Ace Hardware Supplies
To locate the nearest Ace Hardware to your home, click here.
Ace Hardware
2200 Kensington Ct.
Oak Brook, IL 60523-2100
Toll-free: 866-290-5334
Website: www.acehardware.com

California Redwood Association
Website: www.calredwood.org

Plants from Monrovia Horticultural Craftsmen
Monrovia Horticultural Craftsmen
Website: www.monrovia.com

DeWalt power tools
DeWalt
Website: www.dewalt.com/us/core/

Soil amendments by Kellogg Garden Products
Kellogg Garden Products
Website: www.kellogggarden.com

Landscaping Services by D&J Landscaping
D & J Landscaping
E-mail: DJLandscaping@sbcglobal.net

Wood composite deck
The Trex Company
Website: www.trex.com

Outdoor fabric
Outdoor Fabrics
E-mail: info@outdoorfabrics.com
Website: www.outdoorfabrics.com

Sanitation Services
American Classic Sanitation
Website: www.americanclassicsanitation.com

Shellback spring chair (item #20217) and side table (item #20218)
Plow & Hearth
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Phone: 434-977-3707
Website: www.plowhearth.com

GUESTS :
John Kerr
Sales representative
E-mail: jkerr@trex.com
The Trex Company
160 Exeter Drive
Winchester, VA 22603