Choose your greenhouse

I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed my greenhouses over the years. I built my first one from polythene and offcuts of timber from my dad at 12 years old, and have been hooked ever since. My current greenhouse (and its predecessor at Barleywood when I presented Gardeners’ World,) is of powdered-coated alloy. It wasn’t cheap, but it will last more than a lifetime and needs no more annual maintenance than a wash down in spring.

Greenhouses made from timber should be of western red cedar, which is light and very durable. Aluminium alloy is both durable and relatively inexpensive, and perhaps the best ‘starter kit’. A greenhouse 8ft long by 6ft wide is a comfortable size for most gardens and will hold a surprising number of plants. The general rule is that you should get as large a greenhouse as you can afford and that will fit into your garden. However large it may be, rest assured that you will fill it. Second-hand greenhouses do come up for sale, but if you buy one, see it ‘in the flesh’ first rather than as a kit of parts. You may have to take it down and re-erect it, in which case weigh up the likely difficulties against the cost-saving and allow for some broken glass!

A lean-to greenhouse can be erected against a house or garden wall and will have the advantage of being well insulated on one side – especially against a house. Tiny lean-tos are handy for raising small numbers of plants in spring, but you won’t be able to work inside them.

Many greenhouses are used for storing pots, seed trays and the like, especially in winter. Just remember that if they are glass-to-ground models, they are see-through – tidy-minded gardeners might find this irritating! Greenhouses that have solid sides from the staging downwards will look neater if you want to store things inside.