Welcome to the first in a year of monthly reviews about what is going on in my greenhouse. I always have something growing in there and I am looking forward to sharing it all with you. Before I start I have to say that I do realise that I am extremely lucky to have such a beautiful and sizeable greenhouse!!
My greenhouse is made by Alitex and was installed in October 2010. I have had so much work to do in the rest of the garden that the space around the greenhouse is still bare, but I have plans to put this right and think the building will sit better in the garden with some planting around it.
Here is the front door – shall we go in?
Along the back wall I have left a narrow strip of earth about 2 feet deep – when I talk about planting into the greenhouse bed this is what I refer to. At present this earth is filled with bulbs – I will be adding the Owl’s Acre Winter Sunshine sweet peas towards the end of the month.
When looking at greenhouses I fell in love with this Alitex cream staging – it has been surprisingly easy to keep clean. Under the staging I keep an assortment of trays, pots and plant supports. The shelf above the staging is too high for me to reach to look after plants, so I use it to store pots, baskets and other flower arranging paraphernalia that does not fade in the sun.
On the staging I keep tools, plants and seedlings sheltering from the winter weather. You can see that I still have some bulb planting to do – I find tulips are fine as long as they are in by the end of January. If the weather turns against me this lot will be hastily tucked into pots of garden compost to grow on in a sheltered position.
I treat my greenhouse like another room and add decorative touches, as well as washing down the floor on a regular basis (only with the hosepipe of course!). In the summer I keep a small table and chairs in here for a sheltered cup of tea, but at this time of year I need all the space I can get so tea is drunk whilst standing up working.
I have brought two young camellia plants into the greenhouse for the winter and hope to get some early flowers – they are looking promising at the moment!
I have pots and pots of iris, crocus and hyacinths standing on the staging. I am not aiming for very early flowers here (the greenhouse is not heated on a regular basis), but rather want pristine flowers a few weeks early. When they all start to flower in February the greenhouse will smell divine and the surplus will be moved outside to adorn the tops of pillars, tables and steps in the garden.
I am short of food to pick at the moment, but this tray of spicy salad mix will be ready in a week or two. I will start a new tray off every 2/3 weeks from now until early summer when the outdoor salads will take over. I will also be planting trays of pea shoots and rocket in the next week or so – I am not a great fan of bagged salad and prefer to use my own as much as possible. I am still a few weeks away from that though, so will have to make use of the supermarket for a while yet.
These are pak choi plants that I started too late in the autumn to plant out. I have brought them in from the cold frame (where something was nibbling them) and hope they will start into growth again soon.
Above are this years strawberry runners. In my last house there was a bed of strawberries growing by the greenhouse that produced the largest, juiciest and sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted – I have no idea of the variety, but I brought a few plants with me when we moved. Those plants have settled in well and these unnamed runners will keep the crop young and vibrant. I will plant these out in March. I could grow them on to fruit under cover, but really I need the staging space for all my seedlings.
This is a better view of the greenhouse bed. Closest are the Paperwhites that started flowering before Christmas – I used them in my Christmas arrangements and there are just a few left now to pick – I will remove these bulbs and plant the next crop later this week. Next to them are a batch planted in December which should start to flower very soon – I like to keep a succession of this scented bulb going until March.
At the end of the bed I have some tulip bulbs, which you can see are just pushing through the soil. They will flower a little earlier than those in pots in the garden and will be perfect for cutting.
My greenhouse is divided into two by an internal partition. If the weather is particularly cold and I need to protect my recently sown seedlings I close this door and heat just the smaller section to try and keep the cost down. In reality I rarely use any heating as most of what I grow is very hardy and I do not overwinter tender plants.
In this smaller section I do all my seed sowing and above you can see my heated propagator – empty at the moment this will be plugged in and full of trays of seedlings by my February report.
Above are my Winter Sunshine sweet peas – planted in November these have been pinched out and will be planted into the greenhouse bed very soon. I hope they will grow on in the sheltered conditions and give me early sweet pea flowers. Although all sweet peas are quite hardy, these have been bred to perform well in low light conditions.
Ruby loves the greenhouse – she is a regular visiter and I have to take care not to shut her in when I leave.
To the front of the greenhouse I have 2 large cold frames on either side of the front door – this one is full of autumn sown hardy perennials hardening off ready to be planted out in March. The other cold frame is empty at the moment, but will soon be full of vegetable seedlings.
Before we leave the greenhouse I should show you my wheel barrow, which is a constant occupant in the greenhouse – I keep it ready for quick forays into the garden when the winter weather conditions are suitable.
Finally I am very excited to share a couple of photos of my new greenhouse. I know that I already have a very large space, but I have been hankering after a smaller greenhouse in the centre of the vegetable garden for a couple of years now. I grow so many flowers in my other greenhouse that I wanted a space where the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers could grow freely and where I can keep my vegetable seedlings handy for planting out. I rarely have the luxury of whole days in the garden and tend to get by with an hour here or there, so having my seedlings right by the vegetable beds will help. I am also planning a few raised beds around this greenhouse to grow protected salad crops and winter essentials.
The real joy of this greenhouse is that it belonged to my father. He loved his covered space and brought it with him when my parents moved from Lancashire to Suffolk. It has stood unused for two years now and as my mother is not a gardener it made sense to pack it up again and move it here, where it will be well used. It will stand on a base of railway sleepers and hopefully will be in place by the end of February.
Finally I thought I would share with you this photo of the back of the greenhouse taken in January 2012, when we had a ‘proper’ winter.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at my January greenhouse and I will be back on Tuesday 10th February with my look at what I am sowing and growing in my greenhouse in February. If anyone would like to join in, please do write a post about what you are growing in your greenhouse and put a link in the comments here – as my greenhouse is primarily for vegetables and cutting flowers I would love to see all the interesting plants others are growing in their sheltered spaces, as well as sharing all our tips and tricks!
If you are an Instagram user I will also be posting a few greenhouse pictures on Instagram under #inthegreenhousetoday, so please do a leave a comment or post a photo of your greenhouse using that hashtag there too.
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What a heavenly greenhouse. It looks to be the size of my whole front garden… envious, moi?!
Thank you Joanna – I know that am very lucky to have such a beautiful greenhouse and I try to make the most of it – I hope that by sharing it I can encourage others to make the most of their covered growing spaces however large or small.
I love the story of your new greenhouse: what a very special place indeed! I can’t imagine how you keep it all organized and know just what is what: I’m sure I would mismark a flat or whatever. Really nice tour Julie, and a fun monthly edition and addition!
Thank you Libby and I am sure that you would be equally or more organised than I am!
I couldn’t find the reference to your intention to start this meme when I posted about mine yesterday, so I can go back and put in a better link now, and a definite date. How fascinating to have a close up and personal visit to your greenhouse – you will appreciate just how much in awe we will all be, I am sure! It is also very..um… tidy… something we can all strive to achieve however much space we have got. I am sure you will soon fill your extra greenhouse – and how nice that it comes from your family. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, my greenhouse post is at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/greenhouse-exposure/
Thanks for facilitating these monthly reviews, Julie
Thank you so much for joining in Cathy – I love to look around other people’s greenhouses! I am looking forward to seeing how we all progress over the next few months and hopefully we will act as an aid memoir to each other on outstanding jobs – I am glad I reminded you about the salad & hope you are sowing some this weekend!
Oh and thanks for reminding me about growing salad leaves – must instigate that pronto!
beautiful greenhouse!
Thank you Christine!
Your greenhouse is beautiful Julie and it was very touching to read that you have your Dad’s greenhouse now, I am sure you will soon have that filled too.
Thank you Julie – I am sure you are right about filling my father’s greenhouse – I am already getting impatient to have it finished!
Hi Julie, your greenhouse looks immaculate – mine’s really looking rather grubby. How do you keep it so clean? Do you clean the glass yourself and what do you use? As you’ll see, I’m very overdue a spring clean…
https://duverdiary.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/the-greenhouse-review-january-2015/
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you so much for joining in Jen – I am really looking forward to sharing a greenhouse year with you! I have my greenhouse cleaned by my window cleaners in October so it is looking pretty good at the moment – and I did have a tidy up before I took these photos.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your greenhouse with us! I have been so curious about your greenhouse since discovering your blog. It is stunning and provides a sght for sore eyes during a bleak winter here in Saint Louis!
Thank you Elizabeth – I am glad you enjoyed this and I hope that your winter is not too long this year.
Hi my name is Mickie. A very good friend sent me a message telling me about your greenhouse. I have a greenhouse from the same company that yours is from.I love it! I do not grow as much in mine as you do,mine is smaller. I do winter all my pots from my yard and pull then out in late spring. I put a drip watering system in last year and it works great. I am gone part of the winter and it works out great. By May-June all the pots look great. Who did you purchase your greenhouse from? I had a lot of problems getting mine here. I will be following you and waiting for your pictures. Thank you for taking the time to do this. It will bring a lot of joy to other gardeners.
Hi Mickie and thank you for commenting. Your drip watering system sounds like a great idea, especially during holidays – I should look into that.
Your greenhouse activities are admirably well-planned. Glad you’ve decided to share the goings-on. I love seeing the paperwhites growing inside against the brick wall–it’s very lovely.
Thank you Susie – I think the Paperwhites are one of my annual highlights – I love popping out to the greenhouse on a cold winter’s day to pick a bunch.
Your greenhouse is very beautiful and from other views I hadn’t realised it was so close to the house. I need to organise some cold frames too as some of my plants would do just as well in those, what I also need is a shade house for summer, that would be as useful as a greenhouse to me. Here’s the link to the post I wrote earlier in the month, I’ll try to coincide my posts with yours next month. https://myhesperidesgarden.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/the-greenhouse-full-to-bursting/
Thank you Christina for joining in with this – I am going to enjoy watching how your greenhouse changes throughout the year. i have external blinds n my roof – I was dubious at first but they really do work – the blinds stop the sun heating up the glass so are more effective than internal blinds which just provide shade. You probably need stronger measures in your climate though. You must let me know when you will next be in the UK – we could have a cup of tea in my greenhouse!
Gosh what a fantastic greenhouse, I am green with envy. And it is all so well organised and tidy. I am glad that I am not the only one who still has tulips to plant.
I think it is such a great idea to keep trays of salad going. You are right those supermarket bags don’ t feel very healthy.
Thank you Chloris – I am relieved to hear that you have tulips to plant too – I am keeping my fingers crossed that these threats of snow go away so that we can get on with it!
It is such a beautiful greenhouse that I almost didn’t want to read any more, so green was I! And nice to see it being so well used with all the Paperwhites and the other bulbs showing their noses! I like the story about your Dad’s greenhouse. I’ve only ever had secondhand greenhouses, and I still remember the stories of their dismantling and re-erection with a lot of affection (and a few smiles). Memories make a garden special.
Thank you Cathy and I do try to make the most of it as I know it is such a luxury to have a space like this. I have only ever had second hand greenhouses before, so I know we might have a challenge getting my fathers greenhouse up and running! I am very excited about it though – it will feel a bit like having him back in my garden.
You have a gorgeous greenhouse Julie! Nice and near to the house too, and so tidy and clean. I am very impressed at how organised everything is. I hope to have a greenhouse one day, and am soaking up as much information on them as I can for now!
Thank you Cathy and I hope these posts will help you plan what you want from your future greenhouse.
What a beautiful greenhouse, I’d love one of these and it’s certainly the perfect place to be on one of those dull winter days…surrounded by lovely earthy scents. Yours is so pretty and well organised too.
Thank you Annette – I especially love it in the rain – it feels such a treat to be working in the garden whilst keeping warm & dry and there have been a lot of rainy days recently!!
Julie, I can’t even say how much I love your greenhouse (and whole property!). It is so lovely and inspiring. We have such a hilly property that locating something like is a challenge. But this makes me dream!!
Thank you Georgianna! Suffolk is flat flat flat, so I dream of having a few hills in my garden! As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side.
I think that I could turn to crime for a greenhouse like yours Julie 🙂 I still have a handful of tulips to plant so do not feel so guilty now. I think that your strawberry runners would be ok if you turfed the pots out into the outer world now onto staging or in a cold frame. They are quite tough customers and it would provide you with the desired extra space.
A most informative post and a super idea to have a visit a month, I must say that your photos are well taken and help to emphasize what you’re writing about.
I’m about to get my first greenhouse this coming Friday the 30th and am quite agitated by the prospect. On my blog I’ve been writing about the experience of choosing it and wrote last week, with a photo or two, on having the base installed, you can see my posts here
https://mossfighter.wordpress.com/
on the gardening page. I’d like to join in your meme and post on my progress, we have recently moved to Suffolk to an old cottage with a garden left to run riot for around 30 years, I’m so looking forward to getting it under control and sharing my experience on my blog.
Thanks for your posts.