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WITH A SMALL BUDGET, A CONTAINER GARDENER

TRANSFORMS HER GARAGE INTO A LUSH POTTING SHED.

BY D EN ISE G EE PHOTOS M ICH AEL PARTEN IO PRODUCED BY SAN D RA M OHLM AN

Some say the solutions to life’s problems are in our own backyards. That’s

truly the case for Holley Jaakkola. The Savannah, Georgia, professional

container gardener was tired of a long commute to work. The remedy

appeared to her—literally—in her driveway. That’s where she and her

husband had always parked, since their cars wouldn’t fit in their 1920s

garage. The 18xl8-foot dark and featureless space was used only for

storage. But that was before Holley realized its potential.

With an investment of about $6,000 and help from a carpenter friend,

Holley created a new potting shed. She revamped and widened the old

garage doorway with a set of salvaged double doors. She vaulted the

ceiling, added vintage windows, coated the place in white paint, and

cleaned its original concrete floors. Better lighting and a work sink made

the result “clean and simple,” she says. “Just what I wanted.”

Holley’s burlap-topped worktable,

opposite

, is flanked by two galvanized tubs, one

with potting soil raised waist-high, “which makes planting so easy—I never have to

bend over.” Three Chinese plant cloches are used as lamp shades overhead.

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MARCH 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS