A Custom Gardening Room: Organized Storage for Green Thumbs

When Calvin and Patty Luce bought a home in Gig Harbor, Washington, in 1998, they decided a dedicated gardening room was essential. For about $2,000, Calvin converted an unfinished storage space into a highly organized workspace. In his words, planning ahead was "like building the kitchen before trying to fix a meal."

The customized room keeps everything—from pruners to pots—at their fingertips, using simple materials cleverly repurposed from hardware stores. Epoxy-coated wire closet racks hold watering cans and new transplants; galvanized containers store bagged fertilizers. A perforated hardboard panel stores hand tools, standard wood shelves hold packaged goods like plant food, wall pegs dry herbs and flowers, and a generous work surface includes a built-in sink.

Plant Shelves

Potted plants sit on a rack above a galvanized evaporation tray (fabricated by a sheet-metal shop) that catches overflow when watering. Fluorescent lights above the shelf illuminate plants during their indoor stay.

Hanging Walls

Perforated hardboard and open wood shelves keep favorite tools in plain sight. A gardening book on a metal stand stays open for quick reference, and a basket holds garden gloves.

Storage Bins

Galvanized containers store soil amendments. Drawers run on 100-pound slides; a pullout shelf for a 30-gallon can of potting soil uses 200-pound slides.