Real Greenhouse Work

Using  the spandrels to support the cane framework

Less than straight canes!

Of course I've been busy in a new greenhouse!  Who wouldn't? I made countless journeys lugging the plants from the conservatory and placing them in their new home.  Many had put on weak and leggy growth due to reduced lighting conditions and so I have pinched out tips of many. Today was spent sowing courgette and marrow seeds and believe or not some Adenium seeds (from India - another story!) I also put in some canes and made a sturdy framework in readiness for tomato plants - which have been promised by a certain master builder!  Tying in canes was a whole new ball game in this greenhouse.  Firstly I needed 8' canes and was able to make instant use of the rather fetching vintage spandrels which, at the time seemed a bit of an extravagance. Now I feel vindicated! H & S would have outlawed my teetering around on one foot straddling the border whilst tying in the tops of the canes. Hey ho!

Am not sure what Hartley Botanic will think of my makeshift staging but whilst waiting for delivery of their new staging - owt's better than nowt!!

Makeshift staging

Who loves her new greenhouse????

Traditional Victorian style of a Hartley Botanic

In the early morning sun

Well with a Hartley Botanic greenhouse to play in, who's a lucky girl?? The installation chaps did a fab job and their attention to detail was impressive. 

Unwrapping & hanging the vine

The grapevine swathed in horticultural fleece 

We await delivery of staging and additional vine eyes but that didn't stop us moving most of the plants that have been enduring over a month in the conservatory, back into their new home! Because the conservatory only has glass in the atrium, the light levels are far lower than a greenhouse. The consequence of this is weak and leggy growth. Violas, Pelargoniums and others have been pinched pack before being re-homed. We have hung up the poor grape vine with bungy cords whilst waiting for Hartley Botanic to send out more. It now has far more height and and was reluctant to straighten out and take advantage of the extra height. It's spent the past 5 weeks swathed in horticultural fleece whilst exposed to the elements. We really hope it will survive all the frosty night out in the open.

Temporary staging has been made from boarding and carpenters' trestles and most of the day was spent tidying, moving, sweeping and loving this amazing new structure. Considering it stands on the previous footprint, it's so much roomier, lighter and airier and I LOVE it!. There was also time to tidy the veg patch even though there has been no opportunity to actually plant anything yet.

More photos

Well done both Chris's and all at Hartley Botanic!!!

A Greenhouse on HM The Queen's Birthday!

The Hartley Botanic team hard at work.

PTC's Union Jack flew today for the occasion

Bruce, Pete, Darren & Gary from Hartley Botanic

Quite an auspicious occasion today!  HM The Queen's 90th birthday is quite a day to be having a new greenhouse! Hartley Botanic provided a team of 4 two of whom will return to tomorrow to finish off. It's already looking a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I'm totally thrilled - who wouldn't be?

The Arrival of the Replacement Greenhouse

Can this really be a whole greenhouse?

The name fits!

HURRAH!! The replacement greenhouse has arrived!!! Installation takes place tomorrow. In the meantime, our ace electrician: Dave (of DSM Electrical Installations Ltd) came over and did the all important electric cabling in readiness for the interior plug sockets and lighting. He also replaced an underwater light in the culvert.  We can now go ahead with paving at the front of the greenhouse. On seeing the brick built base, the delivery man immediately sang the praises of Chris's artistic eye for detail and loved the wall features. Roll on tomorrow!!!

Dave Melhuish

Unloading

Despite the frosts & snow flurries..

Magnolia Soulangeana

Clematis Armandii Apple Blossom

Meanwhile; in the rest of the garden and, despite the heavy morning frosts and snow, we do have some colour. Although, if this keeps up much longer, all the Magnolia blooms will be a delicate shade of brown. Still, it's a change to see some blue sky after the relentless rain.

Barrows, Bonfires, Bark & Beers!

Matt & Sarah came up for the weekend and.........they brought sunshine and muscles!  With Chris's help too, we all moved about 50 - 55 wheelbarrows full of woodchip down to the Henclosure, the Woodland Border and the service path.  The mountain of wood chip was courtesy of Chris who had been asked to fell a Western Red Cedar. Being Cedar it had a really lovely scent and the chickens love scratching around in their sweet smelling fresh new litter. 

Sarah was our brave cave slave!  She crawled into the low, dark cave, swept it all out and then stacked all the remainder oak rails, which the rest of us trimmed to size and carried down. This all took place following intense discussions and negotiations with one inveterate hoarder of oak. Compromises were reached over that which was stored and discarded!  (Nuff said!) Then it was time to burn unwanted broken pallets last week's brash...............and have a beer!  Checkout the video!

Miles of Tiles

Down pipes being made

Laying vintage tiles

Cleaning the old tiles

The first real spring-like sunny day meant I helped Chris lay some beautiful old tiles he just happened to arrive with! They're yellow and red terracotta and look really fab. After laying in ducting for Dave's electric cables, the other job was to clean off mortar from the already re-recycled tiles. These had already been recycled once by us in the previous greenhouse and before that by Kyle. We now have piles of Kyles tiles ready for recyling yet again at the far end of the greenhouse. The used mortar completely filled a whole wheelbarrow and, at the end of the day, a major clear up of brick ends, battens and leftover materials in readiness for greenhouse delivery!  

Kyle's tiles!

Meanwhile, our design engineer at Hartley Botanic: Josh sent this picture of the down pipes under construction. Installation commences on Monday - can hardly wait! Further tiling will take place after this stage.

Yet another project!

Laying in the raspberries

Reclaimed oak fencing

Meanwhile..............down the bottom of the garden: another project is well under way. A new little fruit enclosure for the raspberries is under construction. Chris used some reclaimed oak post and rail fencing to enclose it and planted more beech saplings in order to extend the present beech hedge around the Henclosure. He even brought some currants, rhubarb and  a gooseberry bush. He plans to make a wood chip path and even a gate - eventually. The next stage is to strip the turf to improve the levels and then replace it. This will entail importing soil from the Henclosure but should mean easier mowing with the mower no longer wanting to slide down over the edge of the turf! Will it be finished in time for open gardens?????

End of the day!

Laying a new greenhouse floor.

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Chris mixing more mortar

Newly laid path

After a day in the persistent rain yesterday and getting soaked through and covered in mud, it was a real pleasure to continue greenhouse work in sunshine today. Our star of a builder arrived with much needed bricks for the new greenhouse path - probably cos he didn't trust us to go and buy the right sort! I found 4 old tiles which he built in as features and I was allowed to brush off the mortar! We plan to keep the same greenhouse layout as before with a bed for tomatoes on the right hand side and staging on the left with the far end floor space left free for taller pot plants. So far, the grapevine seems to be surviving

Evidence of building works!

Another Step Closer

Richard...

..demonstrates his theodolite!!

The replacement greenhouse is now another step closer following a visit from Darren & Richard at Hartley Botanic. They came and checked on final levels and dimensions and gave Chris gold for the best greenhouse base! They not only admired his accuracy but also the details in the brickwork. We now need Chris to approve their construction! They even managed to dodge more vicious squalls and have promised to send photos of the manufacturing process & also shelving details.  Roll on 18th when construction commences!!

Richard & Darren from Hartley Botanic