One of the first things we did in our garden (after planting our woodland) was to establish a vegetable garden. It included a little greenhouse, in which I grew augergines, peppers ... and lots and lots of tomatoes. I would spend my mornings happily pottering around in the warmth of the greenhouse tending to my plants.
Pic of the greenhouse in 2008 taken on my old phone.
A few years later, the greenhouse looked like this:
It had fallen into disuse following an upsetting incident in which the entire produce of the greenhouse - which we estimate included about 600 tomatoes - were stolen. All of my hard work that year came to absolutely nothing. Discouraged, I lost interest in the greenhouse. Over time, brambles crept in over the boundary wall from the field next door and invaded the greenhouse. It made me so sad to see it in that dilapidated state.
But this story does have a happy ending!
When we got our garden professionally landscaped last year, my love of gardening got a new lease of life. Moreover, with several large flower beds to fill, I knew that having a greenhouse to start propagating my own plants would be a huge benefit. I decided to reclaim my old greenhouse and turn it once more into the happy place it had formerly been for me.
Preparing the New Site
As well as renovating the greenhouse, I wanted to relocate it from the very back of the garden to a new site directly behind the garage. There were a few reasons for this. Firstly, I wanted to be able to access the greenhouse without needing to change my shoes to walk down through the often wet grass to the end of the garden. The new location is easily accessed via a pathway that leads from our back door. Having the greenhouse closer to the house will also make it easier to monitor, making it more secure and less prone to theft. Another benefit of moving it behind the garage is that some shade will be cast on the greenhouse which, in its old location, had a tendency to overheat in the summer sun.
Preparing the new site for the greenhouse, which can be seen in the background its old location alongside the boundary wall of our back garden.
We started by creating a wooden frame to determine the area and levels required for the new greenhouse hardstand. At one end, the surface would match the level of the adjacent path and, from there, slope slightly to allow rainwater to flow away from the garage.
We ran an electrical cable and some water pipe so that they would come up inside the greenhouse. Then we added a few inches of Clause 804 aggregate (a mixture of gravel and sand that binds easily) and compacted it using a wacker plate that we rented from a local tool hire depot.
We covered the aggregate with a weed proof membrane.
Then we added a layer of sharp sand and used the wacker plate again to compact it.
Using the wooden frame as a screed rail, we ensured that the sand was a uniform depth with an even surface.
Then we placed concrete slabs directly onto the sand. We didn't cement each paving slab into place because I want to keep access to the electrical cable and water pipes running underneath, which will enable me to reconfigure them if I ever decide to change or upgrade the greenhouse. However, we did haunch around the edges of the entire area with concrete to prevent the slabs from shifting about.
With the hardstand completed, it was time to move the greenhouse to its new location.
Refreshing the Frame
We unbolted the greenhouse frame from its metal base, and carried it up the garden. We replaced the worst of the damaged panes and scrubbed the remaining ones clean. I would have liked to replace all the panels with new polycarbonate, but increased demand for greenhouses during the pandemic has caused the prices to soar, and it would have cost me more to replace the few windows than the entire greenhouse cost me originally! So I'll wait until the prices come down a bit before getting new window panels.
As an aside, I chose polycarbonate windows instead of glass for my greenhouse because they don't break as easily, they offer more insulation than glass, and they filter the sunlight to protect the tender new leaves on little seedlings against scorching.
Meanwhile, we bolted the metal base of the greenhouse into place on the new paving slabs.
Then we reattached the greenhouse frame to its base.
Finally, we refitted the window panels into the frame.
At this point, the greenhouse was ready to use. However, to obliterate any associations with the theft that had occurred, I wanted to give the greenhouse a completely new look for a fresh start.
Stencilling the Floor
As the paving slabs had been exposed to the weather, they had already started to show signs of green algal growth, so I started by treating them with an algaecide.
The next day, the slabs were ready to paint. For the first coat, I used two parts of Tikkurila Finngard Silicone Protect mixed with one part Owatrol E-B mix-in bonding primer. To apply it, I used the semi-smooth mini roller by Two Fussy Blokes.
For the second coat, I used the Finngard paint undiluted.
I couldn't find a stencil to fit the size of our paving slabs, so I decided to make my own. I started by creating a pattern on the computer and then printing it out onto several A4 sheets, which I taped together.
The red areas on my template are not part of the pattern, but rather would be used to tape the stencil into place.
I taped my template onto a mylar stencil sheet and traced the pattern using a permanent marker. The mylar I used was 190 microns in thickness, which made a nice robust stencil.
Then I used a craft knife and cutting mat to cut out the pattern.
I painted through the stencil using a contrasting colour of the same Finngard paint. This time, I used the smooth mini-roller by Two Fussy Blokes. Below you can see where I used the extra cut-outs to tape the stencil onto the floor.
Stencilling the floor.
When stencilling, it is important to apply the paint using a relatively dry roller. To achieve this, I blotted the roller on some paper towel before painting over the stencil. This prevents excess bleeding around the edges of the pattern. It is also important to clean the stencil with a wet cloth after each use.
I stencilled all the whole slabs in the centre of the floor and waited until the following day to paint around the edges.
I decided to create a painted border around the edges to make it easier to cut in without fiddling too much with the stencil. To create the border, I cut a length of wood to a thickness of 3cm and placed it inside the base of the greenhouse. I used the wooden baton as a guide to place masking tape, and then painted between the tape and the greenhouse frame to create the border.
I removed the masking tape before finishing the stencilling.
Having already created the green border around the edges, I was able to use a roller all over the stencil instead of doing finicky cutting in with a brush on top of the stencil. Again to make life easier for myself, I cut the stencil to size so that it lay flat around the edges. This wasn't really necessary, to be honest, so I wouldn't recommend doing it if you intend to re-use your stencil.
At the corners, I just bent he stencil up along the edge of the greenhouse base.
The paint I used is an exterior masonry paint but, as it would be walked on, I wanted to make it more hardwearing by giving it two coats of Pedra; a clear, matt stone varnish. The products I used can be purchased in kit form from Carlow Paint Hub (this is not an ad - I'm just happy with the products and happy to share this info with my readers).
I know painting the floor of my greenhouse is a bit over the top, but I love the end result and it really does achieve my goal of making it feel like a brand new space.
Finally, I was ready to start bringing in my plants!
Fitting Out the Greenhouse
In the past, I had used my greenhouse primarily for growing vegetables (or technically fruit!) in large pots set on the floor. This time, I want it for propagating flowering plants, so I needed extra shelving to hold all the seed trays I will be filling up over the course of the coming spring. The most economical solution I found was to purchase a growhouse and use the shelving without the cover - the 4 tier growhouses from B&Q were the cheapest I found, and are the very same quality as more expensive versions. These are intended to be mini greenhouses in their own right, but all of them are really too flimsy for outdoor use, in my opinion. However, here in my greenhouse, they make ideal shelving.
Even then, I used cable ties to secure the shelves.
As it's more convenient to use the upper shelves, I was concerned about making them top heavy to the point that they would topple over, so I also tied each shelving unit to a bracket fixed to the greenhouse frame. Now they are very sturdy and yet can also be easily dismantled if I want to make more space for larger plants later on.
I couldn't resist adding the willow hearts, which I picked up in a charity shop. After all, the prettier the space, the more pleasant it is to work in. However, I didn't want to overdo the decoration to the point where it would become impractical - this is, first and foremost, a working space. That's one reason I love the floor so much, because it adds so much impact while still being a very practical work surface.
If you have been following my stories on Instagram, you may remember that I had started propagating some plants from cuttings and seeds in the autumn. I had been cramming them onto windowsills for the past couple of months, so I'm delighted to finally bring them into the brighter light in the greenhouse.
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And should the thief choose to return, I am now equipped to catch them in the act.
Of course, I had to include a chair! It's just so lovely place to spend some time there now.
As the greenhouse fills with plants later in the year, it may no longer fit, but I'll enjoy it for as long as I can.
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