Imagine a world where a family, using a greenhouse, can produce free, organic food year-round. A citrus tree sits in one corner, a fig tree in another. Carrots and lettuce sprout in growing beds a few feet away. Assorted herbs grow in pots that are scattered here and there. The greenhouse also has space for flowers: Paperwhites, orchids, and other blossoms perfume the air. In another section, the water in a pool housing koi and carp adds gentle resonance to the warm and humid air. If you want, you can add to this picture a few butterflies or ladybugs, or perhaps a friendly gecko or anole patrols the environment, helping to eliminate unwanted insects without the use of pesticides. Now imagine turning this picture into reality by building your own greenhouse. That is what this book will help you do.
For a home gardener, having a greenhouse has a great many advantages. A greenhouse puts you in control of what you sow and what you eat. It enables you to grow vegetables and fruits out of season and allows you to keep away from your produce insects and rodents that might damage it. If you are not inclined to grow vegetables and fruits, your greenhouse might be full of orchids or geraniums or African violets. Imagine the aroma of bulbs in bloom at any time of the year. This is what owning a greenhouse can bring to your gardening lifestyle.
Greenhouses need not be expensive. I built both of my 300-square-foot greenhouses for under $500 each, using recycled materials. The amount of money you put into a greenhouse is directly related to how much you want to spend. You can go to a garden center and spend less than $1,000 for a perfectly adequate greenhouse, or you can go to an architect and spend $50,000 or more having one built to his or her design specifications. Both greenhouses could grow exactly the same plants. A greenhouse structure itself does not necessarily affect what you can grow in it, although it can affect both some of the intangible enjoyment that you get out of your home and its resale value.
A greenhouse definitely helps you get more out of your gardening without requiring a huge time commitment. After all, flowers and vegetables grow slowly, but I know from experience that with a greenhouse, you can bring fresh vegetables, fruits, or flowers to your table almost all year long in most parts of the country. A greenhouse can be attached to your home or it can be freestanding, and it can be constructed in myriad ways. The options are many. Start with a small greenhouse and expand as you gain more experience. It is the pleasure that you get out of your year-round greenhouse environment that makes it worthwhile. Given its potential benefits, why not start building one for yourself today?