Thinking of a greenhouse: how exactly would I use it?

[BadSkiingMum]

I have a large patio area and am thinking of putting in a greenhouse. The area would be close to a fence, shaded in the morning but lots of sun in the afternoon and evening. Plenty of space.

I would want something fairly attractive so perhaps with a dark frame, the solid area at the base of the glass and an opening rather than a sliding door. Perhaps a work bench for potting. Not fussed about a water butt or anything like that as the hose is about five metres away!

I like the idea of growing tomatoes, peppers and perhaps cutting salad or micro greens. I am not a huge gardener but enjoy doing containers and patio plants each year. Perhaps a bit of propagating. Would this be the right kind of setup? Would I use it?
Or would it become a regrettable and very expensive home for spiders?

If you enjoy doing containers and patio plants then I'm sure you'll enjoy growing tomatoes and propagating seeds. I have wicker chairs in my greenhouse and it's a lovely place to sit surrounded by plants. Like containers, the plants will need watering pretty much daily throughout the summer. You'll need someone to look after them if you go on holiday.

I wouldn’t skip the water butt. You can collect a lot of water and you will need to water your plants a lot.

greenhouses look beautiful on Pinterest. In real life they can look quite scruffy and you have to keep an eye on it due to temperature fluctuations. It’s easy to forget and bake your seedlings unless you have automatic opening vents.

I use mine to put my seedlings in once they’ve germinated and got their true leaves, before hardening them off.

Peppers and chillies stay in there, because they seem to like it ☺️

My citrus trees overwinter in it, wrapped up in some nice fleece.

I love it in there, with the radio on, pricking out and potting on. Good vibes.

Don't worry too much about a work bench in the greenhouse. Get a potting shed instead. It will be way too hot in there. We have a small greenhouse a 6x4ft one, and it's good for small things and starters. It can do two good tomato plants, and crops into late October. In terms of heat, it is a delight late in the year until November and from about March, as it is warm, then it gets too hot. Ours doesn't get much morning Sun, but gets afternoon and early evening. The morning Sun can be quite strong so that's not too bad. I want to move my greenhouse, but haven't got much room in the garden. But I do love it. Make sure you have water close by. And if you surround it with patio and pots you can have a good workable area. I move stuff in and out the greenhouse into nursery areas. If you are at all into plants, you'll use it. The greens you can grow in the colder months.

Following with interest because I have no idea whether I want to greenhouse, a summerhouse, a potting shed or a home office 😂

I want it to look pretty, to be able to sit out in it in a cold day, potter about in it if it is cold or raining, to overwinter things in, and to get seeds started in the spring.

But I can’t see me spending hours tending to crops.

Potting shed

What do you think of something like this?

https://www.greenhousepeople.co.uk/greenhouse/612/swallow-66/

Or this?
https://www.waltons.co.uk/products/8-x-6-ready-painted-evesham-wooden-greenhouse

I have a cedar unheated greenhouse, about 9 years old now. It has two sliding doors, big enough to get a wheelbarrow in. I do have staging, a bench and automatic vents. All these things make greenhouse life easier. I also have a stool to sit at bench height.
I start all my annuals and veg off, overwinter delicate plants, grow tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and chillies in there.
Once you’ve got a greenhouse you’ll never look back!

I was literally standing in that one at the garden centre today 😅

It’s very nice. I was asking the salesman why some are all glass, some are like this one, and some have to wooden section higher.

He said that it depends on where the sun hits in your garden, but also how much clutter (pots, compost etc) that you want to hide away behind the wooden sections.

I found myself gravitating to this one for my purposes. https://www.greenhousepeople.co.uk/greenhouse/5801/jay-potting-shed-68-x-64/

Summerhouse.

Even then, might need to add shading. The vents only do so much

Mine is a custom lean to one from White cottage leisure buildings. It's brick to bench height and attached to the garage. It's absolutely stunning as long as you don't peer in and fits with the architecture of our house which was important to me. I cannot fault them on their design, communication and installation