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I don’t think I’ll ever get over that feeling of joyful warmth the first time I slid open the greenhouse doors. I’d sat all morning sipping tea and watching with awe as it was installed. The months of preparation that had gone into planning the base, deciding the layout and picturing the many happy hours of growing, had all become reality.
I’d outgrown my previous greenhouse (excuse the pun) and although I’ve the fondest of memories, I was very pleased to put all of my learnings about greenhouse growing into plans for the next chapter. A bit of moving and re-jigging of the patch meant I was able to double my greenhouse space to an 8 x 12ft Premium. When measuring the space it was really important to consider access all round for cleaning and maintenance. Being in a sunny spot, I knew I’d need blinds too so I wanted to make sure I could reach those with ease.
Previously I’d always grown in pots inside my greenhouse and whilst it had the advantage of being flexible and easy to move things around, having so many pots meant watering was time consuming and crucially, not all of the veg enjoyed being restricted. Being such hungry plants, tomatoes in particular often suffered towards the end of the season. In my new space, I wanted a practical way to display pots but also an open side where I could directly plant. I decided on one side of two-tier staging for pots and practical working space, leaving the other side for planting exciting veg such as tomatoes and luffa!
Possibly the hardest choice of them all was choosing the colour. Choosing from all of the finishes was near impossible as I loved them all. I was determined I wanted my greenhouse to be a real focal point of the garden, to be bright and accentuate the colourful flowers and vegetables I love to grow. In the end I chose Antique Ivory and I just adore it. It’s such a classic colour that blends beautifully into my cottage garden.
In terms of the installation, I contacted my local Rhino approved installer who built this dream space for me. After all the hard work getting the base ready, I was very happy to leave this step to the professionals. They had it up in a matter of hours! As you can imagine I moved in straight away, setting up a seat next to my potting pal and, despite the soggy lead into spring, sowing my first seeds of the season! I always grow a blend of vegetables and flowers in my vegetable patch. Not just because it looks so inviting but the flowers also do a great job of attracting friendly pollinators to the patch! So far I've sown lots of leafy veg including spinach, chard, lettuce and a selection of brassicas. I’ve also sown some edible flowers such as nasturtiums and marigolds. The seed sowing has only just begun and I can’t wait to watch everything come to life.
The warmth that I felt when I first opened the doors has already been enjoyed for many hours and I’ve not been the only one who’s loved the new growing space. My chickens and faithful springer spaniel love it just as much - `I think we’re all going to be very happy here!
Amy Shore - @chicksandveg.
