greentapestry : My Glass Palace - February 2014

Tuesday 25 February 2014

My Glass Palace - February 2014


"Who loves a garden loves a greenhouse too" - William Cowper, 1731 -1800

Prompted by Helen over at 'The Patient Gardener Weblog' here is the first of what I hope will be a series of post about my greenhouse year. My present greenhouse came home with us after the Malvern Spring Gardening Show in 2009 - well to be more accurate a receipt for a deposit came home with us, whilst the greenhouse followed a few weeks later. It is the best gift ever that himself has given me. We did not go to the show with the intention of buying a greenhouse - in fact the thought of getting another greenhouse had not entered my head. I was quite happy with its predecessor which was a 6 feet by 8 feet second hand greenhouse and had served me well for years. However himself persuaded me that I should go for a bigger model. He pointed out to me that as I was no longer working that I would be spending more time in the greenhouse and would appreciate having more space to fill. How could I resist such logic? There was also the extra incentive of a special show price so it was a done deal by the end of the day.

My new 10 foot by 8 foot de luxe greenhouse remained in its packaging until September of that year but was up and ready for me  to use the following spring. The staging (which was made using planed slate batons) and the heated sand bench from my original greenhouse fitted happily into this bigger space. Both these structures were lovingly crafted by himself who fortunately for me is a most practical man. The greenhouse is situated just a short hop,skip and jump away from the house so I can get out there easily whatever the weather is doing. It has two automatic windows as well as two that can be opened manually.The exercise bike that you can see in the photo below was just a temporary visitor ~



At the moment the greenhouse contains my collection of named snowdrops which are overwintering in a frost free zone. There is a small electric fan heater which comes on when the temperature dips below a certain level. Fortunately it has not seen much action this year although it had to work extra hard last year. The snowdrops are really taking too much room at the moment but I would like to leave them indoors for another couple of weeks, before letting them take their chance outside. I will start sowing seeds in earnest then although I plan to sow some broad beans, more sweet peas and beetroot before the end of February. For various reasons I am cutting down on seed sowing in the greenhouse this year, although I still have a feeling that I might eat my words yet.

Apart from the snowdrops there are presently a few other occupants in the greenhouse. Autumn sown sweet peas linger but will be turfed out soon to start toughening up. There are also other autumn sowings of orlaya grandiflora, a fluffy grass name of which escapes me for now and the half hardy nicotiana mutablis. I've overwintered a couple of mature plants of the latter hoping that they will be in flower in time for our garden club plant sale in May. If so I will be able to take a flowering specimen to help sell the babies. Also lurking on the sidelines are some penstemon cuttings that are ready for potting up. One is 'Sour Grapes' whilst the identity of the other remains a mystery, other than the fact that the flowers are very,very pink. Pots of dahlias are also resident along with a couple of lemon verbena plants. No sign of life from either yet but it's still to early.

I should also confess that I have a second greenhouse on my allotment plot.That was inherited along with its resident grapevine which I will reveal later in the year. It is just a mass of bare branches at the moment.

So that it is the state of play in my greenhouse towards the end of February. Next month a peek inside.

13 comments:

  1. Oh to have so much space!
    Great idea to be exercising while watching the snowdrops.. better than a video any day :-)

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  2. Lovely looking greenhouse. Both of our current greenhouses were recycled from eBay!. One task we have ahead is to build new staging in the larger one. Currently plants are sitting on scaffold boards supported by breeze blocks - whilst its not the most delicate looking structure, it does that job and supports plenty of weight!

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  4. Oh Anna, a very pretty glass palace indeed! I'm really looking forward to seeing what is inside next time you post on your greenhouse. Ah, I remember how much you enjoy snowdrops so protecting them in your greenhouse is no surprise.It sounds like you have a hard working greenhouse too (hanging my head in shame again).

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  5. That really is a palace, it's a beauty. Oh for all that space, mine's a tiny 6X4, I don't know how I manage sometimes.

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  6. Oh, a veritable palace Anna, what a splendid playground, it must give you hours of pleasure. I look forward to seeing its innards, so to speak, they sound wonderful. What an understanding husband, to realise that an upgrade would be such a source of delight down the years. I am really enjoying all these greenhouse posts.

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  7. Planed slate batons, Anna? You will have to tell me more - I need the practical details of this craftsmanship. Stonemason? Quarryman (the Beatles?)? Lovely functional size - and what a good place to have an exercise bike (see, no one believes you!) - you could rig it up to a generator and create power so you can sow your seeds in the evening ;)

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  8. I now have greenhouse envy:-) It looks great and I can't wait for a closer look inside. You do have a lovely (and very practical) hubby Anna. x

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  9. I am so pleased you are sharing pictures and details about what is going on in your greenhouse Anna. I love my greenhouse and love seeing what other people are growing/doing in theirs. Mine is full of forced bulbs and a couple of flowering camellias at the moment but I really need to find time to move them all outside so that I can get on with seed sowing. I am looking forward to seeing more about your greenhouse activities!

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  10. Such a wonderful space. I love mine too.

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  11. That's a great greenhouse. You haven' t got time to peddle on your exercise bike with all those snowdrops to look after.
    Nicotiana mutabilis is gorgeous, mine seems to keep going from year to year.
    It is interesting to peer into other people's greenhouses but I wouldn't want anyone seeing into mine.

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  12. What a beautiful glass palace you have and so large, mine is just 8ft x 6ft, so you will be able to do so much more. You are going to have such fun filling it up.

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  13. The exercise bike did make me smile. I'm slightly disappointed to discover you aren't cycling whilst sowing. ;) Aren't greenhouses brilliant? Mine is a tad smaller than yours - I wouldn't recommend swinging a cat, but I love it. I took great pleasure the other week in cleaning it from top to bottom and it now sparkles. Looking forward to your greenhouse posts to come.

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All your comments are much appreciated and treasured. I wil try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment, but it may take me a few days, especially when I start spending more time in the garden and at the lottie. I know that you will understand :) I am sure that I will also visit your blog if I have not already done so. If you have any specific questions I will either reply to them here or you can email me at : thegreentapestry@gmail.com

Namasté

- Anna.