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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that once a homeowner is in possession of a good garden, he or she must be in want of a greenhouse. Managing a small greenhouse involves common sense and regular attention. The greenhouse is a source of inexhaustible pleasure to the keen gardener; and the source, too, of an abundance of plants that will fill the landscaping and garden design ideas, the house, and the larder.

Whether the gardener’s deepest yearning is for the perfectly formed orchid or aubergine; irrespective of a devotion to the rarest or most common of plants; regardless of the gardener’s current level of skill in propagation techniques: the greenhouse offers both immediate satisfaction and an opportunity for years of experimentation and reward. Over a single year, the greenhouse can be maternity ward, nursery, learning station, display centre, casualty centre, and convalescent home to your plants; and refuge for the gardener.

A greenhouse can be a stand alone structure, or part of an existing building. A conservatory attached to an existing house may add value as well as being a convenient way to tend plants without having to leave to home. In a somewhat similar way a greenhouse can be a lean-to addition to an existing (south or west facing) wall. Alternatively, the greenhouse can be a standalone structure part of your landscaping and garden plans, either custom built or bought from a landscape or garden centre in kitset form and erected on site. The following paragraphs are concerned with the site and structure of a small greenhouse.
 
A “small” greenhouse may be up to 1000 cubic feet. The first thing to do is to check any regulatory requirements your planning authority may have. This may include construction materials and methods, where the greenhouse is sited on your lot, visual affects of the building and more.

In siting your greenhouse consider the infrastructure you will need: how you will heat it; where you will get water from; how close it needs to be to your implement shed/garage. Consider also whether you will grow plants in the ground, and choose a spot with reasonable drainage. It may be easier to work up the ground before construction begins. Whether growing plants in the ground or in pots, site the greenhouse for winter sunlight and shelter from excessive wind.

Subject to local requirements, the materials used in constructing your greenhouse are your choice. The frame for the house may be either of wood or of metal, often aluminum alloy. Your selection will be based on a number of factors, with cost and aesthetics as the leading ones. If your preference is for a wooden frame, ensure a rot-resistant wood such as western red cedar (Thuja plicata) is used; and also ensure it is treated with penetrating oil or painted to keep it waterproof. In choosing a wooden frame you are committing to an ongoing program of maintenance. Aluminum frames are available in the metal’s base color, in a variety of anodized colors, or surfaced in a white vinyl. Whether you choose wood or metal framing, the glazing bars are usually aluminium.

Glass is the traditional material used to glaze the greenhouse, but there are a variety of plastic films available that offer an alternative. Some of these are claimed to have better light transmission properties than glass, although any superiority may be of minimal value in a small home garden greenhouse. Also available, and worth thinking about for potential fuel-saving properties, are double-glazed products using a plastic film.   
A quick check list to run through for any greenhouse, whether commissioned as a custom built unit from local landscaping designers and contractors or bought as a kitset, is:

·    Method and amount of ventilation.
·    Method for removing excess condensation.
·    Stability (including foundations and how they are fixed to the greenhouse) and, where wind exposure is an issue, wind resistance.
·    Strength and height of any benches supplied; and crucially for capillary water systems, how level such benches are.
·    Width of entrance and height of sill; and strength of door fixtures.

Once you have the greenhouse in place there are a number of management issues that are outside the scope of this article which will need to be studied and explored.

Tags: greenhouse plants | greenhouse plants | garden design | garden design | greenhouses | greenhouses | greenhouse | gardening | gardening | garden

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 9:46 am and is filed under Gardening soil. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.