15 Potting Shed and Greenhouse Ideas to Inspire Your Green Thumb

Recycled Materials

This greenhouse is made from the windows of an old dairy farm. Virtually all the materials are recycled, save for the galvanized screws that are holding it all together. It provides the perfect spot for budding annuals.

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Make it Feel Like Home

This large shed looks like anything but a storage unit. Its copper roof, welcoming porch and colorful bench make it a true extension of the home.

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Backyard Greenhouse

Starting seeds and growing tender plants is a snap in a backyard greenhouse. This one measures 10x12 feet and is constructed from rot-resistant cypress on steel posts. The cozy brick-paved interior is large enough for potting chores as well as a table and chairs where the homeowners can relax with seed catalogs. Although positioned in a semi-shaded corner of the yard, the reinforced, insulated panels soak up sunlight to grow a variety of plants.

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Enchanted Hideaway Shed

As much as an enchanted hideaway a potting shed can be, this square wood building serves as a useful focal point in the garden. Partially hidden behind fragrant herbs and climbing clematis and roses, the shed is the perfect place for storing garden tools. The shingle roof is topped with a whale weathervane. Potting sheds can be built of wood or purchased as kits using metal, vinyl, or hardened rubber.

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Playhouse Turned Potting Shed

Once a playhouse, this tiny building has a new life as a potting shed. Although small, a shed can serve as a focal point in addition to offering storage for tools. It's also a "canvas" for collections. Here, a shelf over top the door features a collection of antique watering cans. Small birdhouses dot the exterior. White shuttered doors open to expose a screen door that improves airflow.

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Lean-to Potting Shed

You can add a potting station almost anywhere. Here, a lean-to offers a potting surface, storage cupboards and drawers, and stool seating. Salvaged porch posts act as supports. With a quick cleanup, this potting table could easily be transformed to a drinks station for a garden party.

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Potting Shed/Greenhouse

A charming wood-shingled backyard structure is part greenhouse and part garden shed. South-facing windows bathe the interior of the structure in light for potting projects (and plant propagation). An open front porch gives the shed the look of a tiny house. The doors and windows allow air to flow inside. Exterior landscaping helps the structure fit naturally into the garden.

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Garden Greenhouse

What better placement for a greenhouse than right in the center of a garden? This all-glass house is cooled by hinged rooftop vents that allow warm air to escape on hot days. Many greenhouses can be equipped with vents that can be opened by hand, or powered by a gear box, a motorized drive, or a sun-activated motor.

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Greenhouse with Fieldstone Foundation

This greenhouse kit could be a 19th-century estate garden. The white-frame building sits atop a fieldstone foundation. In many kits, all the structural components are predrilled and the panels are cut to fit, so nearly anyone can erect one.

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Potting Shed with Salvaged Parts

A whimsical backyard structure, this custom greenhouse is composed of found windows of varying sizes. The solar-panel roof heats the interior, and a stained-glass window offers a bit of decorative style. Periwinkle blue walls and a neon green door add garden-fresh color to this one-of-a-kind backyard structure.

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Cottage-Style Garden Shed

A cottage-style garden shed features several windows that light the interior of this small structure. The shed is cleverly positioned in the landscape, with a paving stone walkway that leads to the door. Surrounding gardens add flowers and foliage that soften the shed's angular exterior. The oversized door is large enough to accommodate equipment such as mowers or wheelbarrows.

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Stucco Potting Shed

Stucco is an unusual medium for a potting shed exterior. Yet this small structure, complete with a mural above the doorway, features both a stucco exterior and tile roof. The arched wood doors on each end allow garden visitors to walk from one part of the garden to another. An ideal spot for both potting plants and storing garden tools and equipment, the shed has a ramp for wheelbarrows or garden carts.

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Saltbox Potting Shed

Nearly any architecture style can be adapted for a potting shed. Here, a simple New England saltbox shed features a slanted roofline (with a clear panel to allow in the sun's rays) that accommodates ample storage for garden tools, pots, and other supplies. The easy-maintenance unpainted wood exterior allows the potting shed to blend easily into the natural surroundings. Along the south end of the shed, hinged cold frames--bottomless boxes with movable tops--aid the gardeners un extending the season by offering a protected space for plantings.

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Gingerbread Potting Shed

As cute as it is useful, this all-white, gingerbread trim potting shed anchors the back corner of a flower-filled cottage garden. The shed is surrounded by other decorative garden art—pickets, hanging birdhouses, a lightning rod--and anchored by the foliage of a climbing hydrangea.

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Architectural Salvage Potting Shed

Four Gothic-style windows, salvaged from an old chapel, became the inspiration for this found-object potting shed. The multipane double doors and windows allow ample light to flood the interior. The shed's owner also uses her space as a painting studio.

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