What if you rent your house? Or if you may move at any time, even to another city? Is a greenhouse a good investment?
One working couple, the Brennans, now of Atlanta, Ga., have demonstrated that a greenhouse is practical even under these circumstances.
Some years ago, while living in the tropics, they acquired a love – and a collection – of orchids. When their work brought them to California, they wanted to continue the hobby that had brought them so much pleasure, and this meant a greenhouse.
Plastic Screened Greenhouse
First, they built their plastic screening. Then they made the first important step: they bought a 6- by 8-foot lean-to and put it together with bolts, knowing that they might move at any time.
And move they did – from California to Georgia! The greenhouse, unbolted, went with the moving van. The orchids rode with the Brennans, loaded into a small trailer.
They rented a house, up went the greenhouse again, and – something new – a gas heater which could also be moved.
And the orchids grew and grew. Another 6-foot section was bolted to the well-traveled original section last year.
But soon again, they found a house to buy, and out came the bolts, and the greenhouse is up again, on its third location, still the center of their leisure enjoyment.
As Mrs. Brennan says, “The pleasure we derive from this hobby can never be explained. It has become a part of our family life and is loved by all of us. We’re looking forward to having more space devoted to greenhouses. They are the perfect hobby for a working couple.”
Greenhouse Costs
Expensive? Nonsense, says Mrs. Brennan. Their first section cost them only $149, with benches, gravel, and cement blocks for the foundation included.
They spend about $30 a year on new plants and only about 810 a year on supplies for their present 12×8 greenhouse. (And even the first home-built one wasn’t an entire loss.
As protection against over-bright sun and occasional hail, the plastic screening is still doing duty as an “overcoat” on the present house.)
Even the shipping, with the sections loaded on a van with their household goods, has not been a great expense. They have spent ingenuity in solving a common problem. But a clever idea is free to the originator and sometimes even to the borrower.
Someday they say they will no doubt return to the tropics and live in an open-air greenhouse. Meantime, if they move again, they’ll take their orchids with them, greenhouse and all.
44659 by Na