From the Sperry Garden – November, 2007

I’ve either owned or had access to a greenhouse since I was 13 years old.  That’s 49 years of greenhouse gardening, and I can’t imagine being without one.

You may have heard me tell my radio listeners "I’ve never seen a greenhouse that was big enough."  When Lynn and I were first married I had a miserable little 6 x 8-foot greenhouse.  It served my needs, but it got SO hot so fast!   Add one overgrown Boston fern basket and the greenhouse was full to overflowing.

Then I went to a 10 x 20-foot glass greenhouse my father-in-law and I built from a do-it-myself kit, and I put it beneath our large pecan trees for a little help with the shading.  It served me very well there for about 10 years.

Almost 20 years ago I got a chance at a functional  commercial greenhouse that was about to be abandoned.  It was being used to rehabilitate interior plants that were being put out on lease. The company was moving and they didn’t want the greenhouse.  I found a company that would disassemble and reassemble it.  The greenhouse and I have been partners ever since.

That greenhouse is 30 x 60 feet, and it’s been a terrific help in protecting some of these same plants every winter.  The biggest crotons have gone out into the landscape by late April each year for all 20 of those years.  The haworthias have lived right where they are in the left side of this photo for the same period of time.  I showed them here last spring as we repotted most of them.

So, this is my own living proof that you can never get a greenhouse that’s big enough.  If you’re in the market yourself, decide what size you need, then buy the next larger.  And, know as I do – you’ll soon be hooked!