My affirmative answer to the question, “Do you like to grow things?” has completely changed our family routine. It began about two years ago when we moved into a home in a countrified suburb.
Before I knew it, carpenters were turning windows into doorways, cement mixers plowed across my lawn and large shipments of glass and metal filled the garage.
Here was our new hobby- a 14 by 16-foot greenhouse empty! However, news traveled fast and soon began the endless procession of friends with dilapidated plants. They had heard of our greenhouse and just knew we’d be delighted to refresh their house plants and tide their garden flowers over the winter.
But, along with them came “housewarming” gifts from florist and nursery plants and we looked at our growing collection of greenery with amazement. Frantic reading on greenhouses quickly made us bookish authorities but we soon found that this was like most thingsólearning by doing the best way.
Gardening As Hobby
Greenhouse gardening is a hobby dating back to the 1800s, but only in the past few years has it come into prominence for the average family. The conservatory is no longer a rich man’s room; greenhouse manufacturers have standard sizes that can attach to your window sill or surround your swimming pool.
Made of redwood and aluminum, these greenhouses also come as kits with simple illustrations that make assembly simple. They come in styles to match contemporary or traditional homes and can be attached to houses, garages, or even barns in either regular or lean-to models.
Greenhouse manufacturers offer down-to-earth prices for folks who want to get down-to-earth about gardening. Even a big 14 by the 16-foot model can be had for less than $500.
Where can you find a hobby that pays for itself so quickly and once started, multiplies itself? The greenhouse gardener is never without cut flowers, flower gifts, and outside planting material. Yet, after the initial outlay, plants from seeds, cuttings, and division provide most of the ingredients for the hobby without additional cost.
We started our first year with great gusto. We had an acre of the ground outside that had to be radiant by spring and with 40 flats in the greenhouse, we transformed the garden rapidly. We were surprised about one aspect of our hobbyóhow little time it took.
Once we were organized, a mere 15 minutes each morning for watering and weeding was all the daily care it needed. Then, on weekends, we spent two or three hours spraying, feeding, planting, making cuttings, and rearranging our produce.
Because my husband’s real estate business requires a great amount of talkingówhich he admits to enjoy he finds the quiet of this hobby an exciting change. He says, “The greenhouse lets me be among living things that don’t ask questions.” Certainly, there is satisfaction with this quiet communion with nature.
But our greenhouse has become more than a hobby. Now in our second winter of indoor gardening, we find that it has infiltrated our entire way of life. We rise early so we can see what is new and what is blooming, and just breathe in the moist sweet perfume.
Our five-year-old takes delight in growing “Jack and the beanstalks” which climb vigorously up strings to the roof. Her vocabulary includes an array of gardening terms that few children ever hear and on rainy days she and her friends can be found in the greenhouse potting little plants in their special corner.
Aside from healthy flowers and houseplants for ourselves, we grow living gifts for Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions. Poinsettias, azaleas, begonias, lilies, hyacinths, and attractive planters make the hobby a further money-saver.
All-Around Room
It was my idea to make the greenhouse a versatile room. Since this home followed the modern trend and did not have a completely separate dining room (and since I had an investment in table linens), we made the greenhouse large enough to hold a garden table that seats eight.
Many times we’ve entertained under the stars or had friends in for a sunny Sunday lunch despite snow on the ground. When the sun beats down on us greenhouse workers, we can spend an afternoon in our midwinter tropics and feel that we are in Hawaii. Even our dog seeks the floor of the greenhouse as his favorite spot for a warm afternoon nap.
No longer do we have guests who sit hungrily in the living room awaiting my dinner. It is already a tradition to tour the greenhouse while I make the final preparations and almost everyone goes home with a tiny pot of some new plant we’re working on.
Currently, I have a salad corner in the greenhouse complete with tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, onions, and peppers and we can truly have a garden salad even in the winter.
Despite the temperature regulations, the suspense of yearly-blooming orchids, muddy manicures, and experiments that fail, we three admit that the greenhouse is the favorite room in our home. And, though our green thumbs may still be a tender shade of green, we love our hobby.
44659 by Caryl Waller Krueger