The Hill Top Cottage Garden Greenhouse

The Hill Top Cottage Greenhouse

At the time I am writing this, my raised garden beds are frozen under layers of ice and snow covers the hills. I daydream of my garden for springtime. Last spring I bought a pop-up greenhouse for $76 (and $30 cash back) from the Ocean State Job Lot in our village. I also bought a much smaller indoor pop-up green house for under $30 to get seeds started. In February I planted my seeds indoors using the mini indoor greenhouse and some grow lights and in the spring we built a platform for the outdoor pop-up green house and transferred my growing seeds into the larger greenhouse. As I prepare to sow my seeds for spring, I thought I would tell you about my first greenhouse year now that I begin my second.

The greenhouse itself is nothing fancy. It is a 5×7′ lightweight greenhouse with 8 shelves, which is perfect to get started. Of course, one day I would love a real greenhouse with a wooden frame and glass windows, but as a renter, this is an affordable and portable alternative. For anyone looking to learn how to garden with a greenhouse, I highly recommend starting here if you are on a tight budget.

Being at the top of a hill that can get windy, I knew I needed a way to anchor the greenhouse to keep it from blowing away in a storm. Friends suggested stakes, but my husband Matthew came up with an idea to build a platform. He asked me if I had any requests, and my one request was to make the platform extended a few feet out the front to make a little front porch to hold some pots with herbs.

We met with my dad at the local hardware store and bought the wood and nails to make the platform, which is just a little over 5 x 10 feet. My father is a very particular type A kind of person, and every nail was perfectly measured. In fact, every piece was perfectly measured and cut to his satisfaction. Matthew jokes that it is perhaps the most well-made greenhouse porch in the world. He is probably right. We used pressure treated wood to keep it safe through the elements, at least for a while. The base of the greenhouse is held down with several two-hole steel pipe straps along the base.

I can tell you for a fact that it worked beautifully and held firm during numerous summer storms, including a few storms with tornado-like winds. One storm knocked down a few trees, but our greenhouse stayed standing. I watched from the window during a storm as it was thrown side to side but never dislodged from the porch base. As long as the door was shut during a storm it made it through ok. I lost one pot in a storm and some of the shelves were flipped topsy-turvy. I learned to put all the pots on the ground inside the greenhouse whenever a big storm was on its way. Twice the seams ripped during high winds but were easily repaired with clear Gorilla Glue water-proof repair tape.

We built the porch against the small meadow in our yard and Matthew mowed a pathway through the meadow behind it. All spring we sowed seeds and in the summer I planted most of my plants and used the greenhouse for only a few plants and herbs. On hot days I kept the greenhouse door open to keep the plants inside from overheating and wilting away. This greenhouse has no windows, but I quickly learned that one full day in the sun during summertime could quickly kill off my plants, especially because there were no windows for ventilation. For spring and autumn, the temperature inside is perfect. I also learned that it is best to set up a greenhouse where it is in shade for part of the day. My little greenhouse is nestled next to a small tree, which provided adequate shade for the majority of the day.

The Greenhouse Set Up On YouTube

You can watch our garden greenhouse journey here on YoutTube: Building A Deck For Our Greenhouse | Greenhouse Gardening

Wintering The Greenhouse

In early autumn I started to worry about how I would store the greenhouse for winter. I considered draping a tarp around it or taking it apart to rebuild in the spring. We settled on placing the entire structure in the garage as it is a little complicated to take apart and put back together. Perhaps one day I will have to do that and find a storage bag for the parts so that we can save on space over the winter. I wanted to wrap the porch up for winter, but because it is pressure treated wood, Matthew said that I didn’t have to worry about it. The base is heavy, so it is permanently placed (or at least it is until we either move or build a bigger greenhouse on the spot).

Year Two With The Hill Top Greenhouse

I was able to experiment with various types of seeds because of the greenhouse last year and learned a lot about gardening certain fruits, vegetables, herbs and even flowers. Some plants failed while others thrived. I know what works well for me and our zone, what does not and what I want to try next.

I’m planning to get my seeds started soon with the little indoor greenhouse and then set up the outdoor greenhouse again once the snow is behind us. In the spring I will plant wildflowers and poppies in the little field behind the greenhouse and tall sunflowers on each side of the greenhouse porch. We also plan to extend our garden from our four raised beds to a plot in the lower field for squash and larger plants like corn and potatoes, which need more room to grow. Our little greenhouse will get us started.

I have always wanted a garden and now that it’s finally here I’m surprised that I have the space and a yard to do so. Greenhouse gardening was a dream of mine that has always felt far away for the future, but it is here now. In a world that I often find overwhelming, it has done me all the good to get outside every day and nurture plants to grow. I hope to place my greenhouse out on the platform in the meadow again once the weather turns. Tiny, but mighty, this little starter greenhouse has been a joy for me and a quiet retreat. It is a daily ritual in the spring and summer to visit the greenhouse and water the plants. I am looking forward to our second year.