House plants and those grown in a greenhouse will benefit from a location outdoors during the summer months and can make an attractive addition to the outdoor living area.
As soon as nights are mild, say safely over 55° degrees Fahrenheit, it is generally satisfactory to put most plants outside.
Often, in a few weeks, the benefit to the plants of increased humidity and unobstructed light can be seen.
However, for the plants to thrive, it is necessary to consider their basic needs and provide for them.
Various Basic Plant Needs
North Or East Exposure To Sunlight
A north or east exposure with some shade and wind protection suits most plants.
Sansevierias love some bright sunshine and often surprise one with fragrant flower stalks, whereas begonias and many other plants require more shade.
If protection from strong winds cannot be provided, large or delicate leaved plants such as philodendron, Rex begonia, dracaena, and dieffenbachia should not be set out.
Convenient And Versatile Structure Support
The convenient and versatile structure has proven invaluable in my garden and can be easily adapted to other locations.
The fence utilizes a part of the west boundary line in the work area of the garden.
Since the weight of pots and soil can run into hundreds of pounds, my engineering associates insisted on re-enforcing the concrete wall that supports the fence posts with:
- Scrap rods
- Pipe
- Wire
Galvanized pipe posts (2 ½” inches) were used to support the fence, and these were filled with cement grout, and the visible wooden posts (4” x 6” inches) bolted to them.
Wind Protection And Proper Ventilation
The fence provides wind protection with adequate ventilation through the staggered picket design.
Pickets are of unfinished natural redwood—a top grade is generally available from greenhouse manufacturers who use it in bench and cold frame construction.
The shelves are supported by brackets bent from ½” by 1” inch steel and galvanized after all drilling is completed.
The shelves are aluminum angle and expanded mesh shelving and do not hold water.
However, when one is to be away for several weeks or for plants that use quantities of water, a water-holding shelf construction is desirable.
This is easily obtained by lining the shelves with roofing paper, polyethylene plastic, or both.
Bed At The Base
The bed at the base of the fence serves several purposes.
Primarily it is used as a peat pit in which pots are plunged during the summer to conserve moisture and provide a constant humidity.
The high cement back wall acts as a retaining wall against the neighbor’s soil, which is considerably higher.
In addition, the wall serves as a foundation for the fence. The pit is bottomless, draining through cinders into the soil.
It is about a foot deep and is kept continually moist by almost daily watering.
In the winter, the pit can be covered with glass and used to carry over perennial seedlings in flats or pots of seeds requiring a period of low temperatures before germination.
Various Plants For Shelves
A few of the plants which seem to enjoy the shelves include:
- False sea onion (Ornithogalum caudatum)
- Neomarica gracilis
- Aloe vera
- Pellionia Daveauana
- Schlumbergera Gaertneri
- Zygocatus hybrids
- Spice geranium
- Crassula argentea
- Epiphyllum hybrids
In the peat pit are the following:
- Dwarf citrus
- Hibiscus
- Angel wing begonia
- Cymbidium hybrid orchids
While this structure was built to fit the location, the principles utilized can be applied in many ways to suit many purposes.
Once you have used the outdoor plant refuge, you will never go back to giving plants individual attention indoors during the summer months.