Greenhouse Wisdom
(Continued)

Buyer's Guide

Dual purpose

If you need both a shed and a greenhouse, but only have room for one, compromise with Pounds spacious wide-door Solar Shed. Produced in five sizes, from 1.8m (6ft) x 1.8m (6ft) to 3m (10ft) x 2.4m (8ft) it’s available in deal from £530 to £995, or in cedar from £795 to £1,435. Big sloping windows ensure that light floods on to slatted staging that comes with it.

Solardome provides the perfect home for your plants and you. A well-anchored dome it can withstand winds of over 120mph. Aesthetically pleasing, it’s simple to create a tropical paradise. Or, of course, you can use it to grow luscious tomatoes and cucumbers. Each pane of 3mm float glass sits in its own supporting frame and is sealed with PVC and clear silicone.There are seven spacious models, from £2,995 to £10,995.

Right above: Pound’s Solar Shed is ideal for growing and storing Right below: Luxury from Solardome

Want to know more?
Aluminium is cheaper than wood and does not need any maintenance. More expensive models have an anodised or specially painted surface.

Warmer than metal, wood, especially deal, needs periodic coating with a plant-safe preservative.

Galvanised steel has great strength. Walls made from it will support a large roof.

Before purchasing, check to see if the price includes VAT and delivery. Erection is usually extra.

Home from home
Really maximise those home comforts in your greenhouse and introduce the ultimate in luxury by installing a hot pool. After a hard day sowing and potting up you can rest your aching limbs and take a soak among your early flowering shrubs and ripening tomatoes.

HotSpring manufactures a range of portable spas and hot tubs that can be used both indoors and outdoors. They cost between £3,595 and £9,095 and are perfect for relaxing and warming yourself in a sun-filled greenhouse.

Left: After a hard day’s work relax in a HotSpring spa

Install a light and heater to make work pleasant from autumn to spring

Tasks ahead…

• If you do not want to go to the expense of heating your greenhouse for growing bedding plants, wait for the bedding plant seedlings to be available in the garden centres and bring these on in your greenhouse. Check out our March issue (on sale 3 February) for further details. Alternatively wait for plug plants to be available, full details of these will be in our April issue (on sale 2 March).
• The greenhouse is great for forcing shrubs such as forsythia and camellias. Buy these when they are on special offer in the garden centres and keep them in the greenhouse. This will force the buds and you will have a wonderful display for your conservatory or house a month or so earlier than your neighbours. 4If you planted bulbs in pots and kept them indoors for an early display, move them into your greenhouse to allow them to adjust slowly to the outside world.
• If you have purchased shrubs or roses by mail order and they have arrived in the depths of winter when the ground is frozen, store them in your greenhouse until the ground softens up.
• Do remember, even in the winter, we can get extremely high temperatures so make sure your greenhouse is ventilated. Open the vents after mid-morning to prevent too much cold air entering. A hot greenhouse will cause plants to shoot too early.