The Greenhouse

I have to track back a bit to last year. My birthday is in Spring and I am a garden nut. Last year I finally decided to get what I have desired for so many years - a greenhouse.

My visions of how a greenhouse works and what I could grow were phenominal - fantasy like.

I purchased a small greenhouse from a local hardware store - it was on sale and in the 'Bren range' (I hate spending money on myself - it almost makes me feel selfish). I got the boxes home and set out to read the instructions. Hhhmmmmm - these intsructions SUCK!!! Mostly pictures, not very informative pictures either, with a little swearing and help from my Dear Hubby (DH) we got the unit together - on the driveway between my truck and the garage door. It's early April, the weather is warming up nicely (sort of) and I am so anxious to start using the greenhouse, but where do I put it? I think north of the house - fairly sheltered from the winds in my area but it will receive sun all day. DH has a different idea - put it over by the horse pen close to the tack shed - protected on all sides except the south. (oh yeah I live on a farm) I need a day or so to think about it's final placement and getting a cup of coffee I hear a weird 'crash/bang' noise outside. From my garden door in the kitchen I can usually see the greenhouse on the driveway - but - IT'S GONE!!!

Where the hell did it go??

A lovely gust of wind sucked it out of it's spot tipped it into the driveway beside the garage and chucked it down the driveway north of the house. I grabbed my coat and went out to rescue my poor mangled greenhouse. DH, seeing me dash outside, came to see what the commotion was about and helped take apart the last few pieces that were still hanging together. We took all the pieces into the garage and I began to straighten out the bent bits.

What a disaster!!! I was heart broken.

My poor greenhouse that I spent so much money on is now garbage. Over the next few days I go out to the garage on a regular basis to visit the pieces scattered all over the garage floor and dream of what could have been. We usually have friends visit for the Easter break so I plan to rebuild the greenhouse with a strong base this time. With a little help from DH and our buddy Bob they built me a base out of old railway ties. As DH is busy with other things, Bob and I get to work rebuilding the greenhouse on it's new sturdy base.

SUCCESS!!

The greenhouse is now bolted to the base, sturdy and set in it's new place - let's get plants in it. I actually held back for a few weeks, which I thought was a sufficient amount of time - yeah think again. Two days go by with my plants in the greenhouse and everything is good, I am out there checking two or three times a day - I am sure if I could live out there I would. Then mother nature craps in my cornflakes. FROST - hard frost - kills off more than half of the seedlings I started back in February. I am beginning to think this greenhouse thing wasn't such a good idea. Crushed from all the disasters lately I suck it up and try again, reseed all the things I lost, have a small funeral for all the plants and seedlings I tenderly grew that saw their demise at the hand of the cold. I spend a lot of time searching for cheap ways to heat the greenhouse at night - solutions for cheap heating are very few. Eventually I do get all the plants out to the greenhouse and they grow without any more problems - except I guess for the spidermites that travelled in on a white Liatris spicata I purchased - the little buggers were very well hidden when I bought the plant - I am usually very good about checking purchased plants for bugs/disease, but I missed these guys and they spread like wildfire throughout the greenhouse.

My Dad, a very talented woodworker, built a pine adjustable shelving unit for my birthday. It fits perfectly, four slatted shelves - lots of room for all the plant trays.

Although I have already started seeds for this season I am going to be practising my patience this year. Don't get too over zealous with getting the plants outside to the greenhouse - or find that cheap heat solution soon. There is still two feet of snow around the greenhouse and the temperatures during the day are just above freezing. I keep myself preoccupied with my plant binder, my blog pages and scouring the net for cheap DIY projects. It seems to be helping but I've still got an itchy garden thumb - I'll be starting more seeds by the end of the week. A few photos of the greenhouse with plants and seedlings from last year - post hard frost funeral. A drizzly, cloudy day was perfect for taking the pictures in late May. The first photo - the south wall, top shelf, holds tomatoes (I bought), hot peppers, pansies (I bought) various flowers I seeded (reseeded). The lower shelf holds osteospermum (I bought), cypress vine, moonflowers, white shockwave petunias and purple wave petunias (all from seed).

The north wall holds a coffee table my Dad built when he was in high school - I think welding class, anyway it's old, not very pretty but it is sturdy and useful. It is holding a Canna lily 'Wyoming' (purchased), Artemesia and creeping speedwell (both purchased), a perennial geranium and a variegated Jacob's ladder (both from my sis in law). Under the coffee table you can barely see the water hyacinth that I bought from a local nursery/greenhouse, they were huge and very much worth the money ($5) but since the pond isn't ready they will stay here for a few more days. The floor of my greenhouse is covered in a black tarp that used to be used for covering bales.