A Hartley Botanic Greenhouse in the garden offers a whole new dimension to the garden and different gardeners use them in different ways. Greenhouses have been used for decades by gardeners to extend the growing season at both ends, to cultivate and grow more tender plants and to harness the heat and the light from the sun to bring on their plants.
YOUR OWN HAVEN
If you are the only gardener in the family then the greenhouse becomes your own special space where you can raise plants, store a few gardening accessories and even site a chair for thinking and reading time. Many gardeners find a sense of tranquility through the act of gardening and a greenhouse can really enhance this by providing a space to enjoy the outdoors in all seasons and weather conditions.
The sloping glass harnesses the solar rays and warms the inside of the glasshouse so that the interior is always warmer than outside. The greenhouse protects your plants (and you) from the wind and the rain and keeps them dry. It can also be sectioned off so that an inner area can be kept slightly warmer or used to house a cold frame, heated soil cable or even a heated propagator to raise seeds or cuttings from tender perennials. Even in the cold, the greenhouse is still a haven within the garden away from the harsh winter winds and the chaos without.
SIZE AND STYLE
A greenhouse represents a major investment in the development of your garden, not just from the practical standpoint of being able to grow the plants that you always dreamed of, but also in terms of the effect it will have on the design and appearance of your garden. The golden rule, when planning for a greenhouse, is to work out what size you think you will need for all your expected gardening activities, and then double it! Once you have discovered just how much a greenhouse can do, your horticultural plans are likely to become increasingly ambitious, and for that you will need space.
You will probably want to match the style of your greenhouse, not only to its intended use, but also to its setting in your garden. For food production in a kitchen garden – or if the greenhouse is for purely functional purposes, there is no need to spend extra cash on fancy styles. But if the structure is to sit – as most do – at the heart of a cherished garden, the extra investment in a beautiful one is so worthwhile. A well designed and soundly constructed greenhouse becomes a handsome focal point, not merely producing fine plants for your garden but also an object of beauty and pride in its own right.
HEALTHY LIVING
A greenhouse is much more than a place to grow plants. It quickly becomes the focal point of the whole garden and a haven away from the hustle and bustle of life. But it can also make huge inroads in the costs of your groceries, not just financially but also in terms of your health, plus you will be reducing your carbon footprint, lessening your food miles and keeping fit too. You can choose to grow your plants organically, raising not just their inherent value but also increasing their health benefits. And you will have fresh ingredients to hand whenever you need them.
FROM PLOT TO PLATE
Ask any gardener what they want to grow in their greenhouse and the chances are tomatoes, chillies and peppers will be mentioned. Now all these crops can be grown outdoors too, but a greenhouse gives them more than a head start. These plants all hail from hotter climes and this can be replicated in a greenhouse. You can sow them earlier so they will flower and crop sooner than plants grown outside. The greenhouse is a protected environment that creates the warmth and humidity that these plants require. It also protects them from some pests and diseases such as blight and flying insects. The greenhouse warmth helps to ripen fruits on the vine so that you can pick them at their peak and enjoy their sun-rich flavour.
THE POWER OF SUNLIGHT
By harnessing the power of the sun under glass the warmth inside your glasshouse can be used in a variety of ways. You can use it to warm your seed compost before sowing so that your seeds get the very best possible start. You can use it to warm the water before you water your plants, to reduce cold shock and stress. You can use the warmth of the greenhouse to dry onions and garlic after harvesting and before storing. You can dry seeds, herbs, and flower heads or even kindling and firewood. You can even hang your gardening coat, hat and gloves inside the greenhouse and allow the warmth to dry them after a rain shower.
Every Hartley Botanic Glasshouse is handmade to order, so for customers looking for structures designed perfectly to suit personal interests, lifestyles and tastes, the possibilities really are endless. Customers interested in purchasing a Hartley Botanic Glasshouse can visit hartley-botanic.co.uk or call 0800 783 8083 for more information.
