Help buying my first greenhouse

[sweeatpea1989]

I like the idea of having a greenhouse that I can also sit in, so greenhouse/summerhouse vibes. I am due some inheritance from someone who taught me all I knew about gardening so it seems like a fitting memory/legacy.

Has anyone done this and have any advice on type/size/material/ positioning etc? I like the look of the timber ones but the maintenance worry’s me, as I would have to add it to the very long list of jobs to do! I have a large cottage garden.

Thanks.

Have you looked at Rhino greenhouses. I also bought one after I inherited some money from a garden enthusiast uncle. Gorgeous colours, very strong and a big range of sizes. Not cheap though.

I have a rhino and can recommend. You need to think about what you want in there. I have a 6 ft by 8 ft with one side taken up by a work shelf (stage) and then I have a potting table and seed shelves on the other side - there isn't also room to also sit in it.

As above. My Rhino is in a very exposed spot and we’ve had big storms recently - it doesn’t even rattle!
mine is 20 something years old and looks as good as new, at the time their advert was an enormous man sat on the roof of one. That wouldn’t be allowed these days!

I would look around at various greenhouse sites first (Rhino, Halls, Juliana, etc.). I saw a magnificent one when I was browsing expensive houses on Rightmove, put it on Google images and found it on several sites, ranging from £1,500-£7,000.

I can't speak for timber ones, as I went for a metal frame to prevent it warping/rotting, but mine is glass. It's brilliant for keeping the heat in, but it's a pain when the panes get smashed! You find a lot of little bits of glass everywhere. For that reason, plastic or polycarbonate panes might be better.

Depending on the size of your garden, your choice of greenhouse might be limited. Think about its internal design, especially if you want a seating area that doesn't get taken over by a triffid of tomato plants or something.

Do you want one where you can add drainpipes for water collection? You can also get things like solar vents, solar irrigation systems and a bedazzling array of accessories!

If it's a greenhouse for some reasonably serious gardening then it needs to be positioned and equipped as a greenhouse first and foremost. This may not be in the part of the garden where you want to be sitting out.

When you say sit in, what do you envisage doing in there? Do you want a table and chairs, what time of year do you think you will use it? A summer house and greenhouse aren't really the same things, and a greenhouse may not be as versatile as you think, it will likely be too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

If it were me I would focus on getting the greenhouse you want and a little summerhouse as a separate thing.

We also have a Rhino. Made in UK, incredibly sturdy and very well made, almost maintenance free (may clean the glass at some point, but the frame is properly strong and powder coated so won't deteriorate in our lifetime) and we do have big enough to sit in and have a coffee - ours is 14"x10, is warm enough all year round to sit out on any sunny day even in winter (we do run a heater overnight just to keep the frost off). If you get all the self opening vents (remembering to lock shut for a storm) and all the blinds (they're external so the glass doesn't get too hot, meaning the greenhouse isn't too hot to sit in) it maintains a level heat all summer. The glass is toughened safety glass and footballs from next door just roll off, a stone spun up by the mower might be more of an issue, but we have planters outside between green house and lawn so they're sheltering the lower glass panels.

I would say it's money well invested and thoroughly recommend, the installation team were great too. We needed a bigger one as DH being 6ft 3 can at least walk in without bowing his head (as he would in a standard sized one), there's masses of room for all his plants to start off and even room to hang hanging baskets prior to them going outside, and we have all this extra room for things like a little bistro table and pair of chairs!

Hartley Botanic, they are stunning.

A lot of votes for Rhino then! Thanks all, will order a brochure and get some serious garden envy!

Buy the biggest one you can afford and that will fit in the space. I use to have a much larger greenhouse and now have a 6 x8 - and it's full and doesn't really give me space to sit in it. I use to love sitting in the old one.....

My old one was a Rhino - it was brilliant. But it wasn't in a very prominent place.

My new one is a wooden framed one and it looks really lovely - in a cottage type garden.https://altongreenhouses.co.uk/

Have you bought one now? Hampton has just launched a new range of wood greenhouses - looks like they've got some metal components but mainly wood. They look lovely! And room for some seating too... https://www.hamptonconservatories.co.uk/greenhouses/ My budget won't stretch this far - maybe one day!