The IKEA Outdoor Feature That Makes Every Gardener's Life Easier

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Gardeners are a special breed. We tame wild plants — dealing with the dirt, fungus, and bugs that come with them — and spend our precious free time trying to keep them alive. There is enough information out there on the best type of gardens for beginners to fill a library, and through all of the sweat and tears, we enjoy the process. But there's no honor badge for struggling the most. If you're a gardener who needs it all to be just a little easier, set yourself up for success with an organized space for your process. One handy tool is an outdoor work station that can handle every stage from seeds to harvest, and the NÄMMARÖ unit from IKEA is one way to start.

While not explicitly advertised as a garden station (it's actually an outdoor kitchen setup), its features are very useful for keeping all your gardening essentials organized. Similar to cooking, gardening requires water, hand tools, ingredients (in this case, soil amendments), and dishes (pots of all sizes). Storing these items in a way that makes your workflow ... well, flow, is key to the zen gardening experience you deserve. You don't need a fancy table, but if you're looking for a simple furniture setup with the garden in mind, here's how you can maximize the NÄMMARÖ's potential.

To set up a good work station using IKEA's NÄMMARÖ, consider your most common tasks and how to make them more convenient. For example, whether starting seeds or potting up something new, the most helpful tip is to have access to water. Instead of using your muddy hands to open the door and wash your hands in the kitchen, you could hook up NÄMMARÖ's stainless steel sink to your outdoor hose to keep the mess outside the house. Plus, watering seeds or potted plants, and even rinsing off a harvest, is easier to do if the sink is right beside your supplies.

Speaking of supplies, you need to store your most essential gardening tools somewhere. The back panel of the NÄMMARÖ is a great place to hang up your go-to hand tools on hooks. Hand pruners, rolls of twine or garden tape, a soil knife, maybe even a pair of gloves can hang at eye level rather than being buried in a dusty bag or old pot. You can even pick up something like the Dahey Metal Hanging Flower Pots to hold onto plant labels and markers.

Use the shelf storage under the countertop to stack up your pots and seed trays. You might even fit some irrigation tubing there, if you decide to go for the extra long NÄMMARÖ. To feel like a pro, stash a waterproof storage bin of potting soil there too. Everything you need for your most common tasks will be right within reach and easy to find.