The GreenhouseCustomized and Home BuiltThe Drought Smart Plants GreenhouseBuilt in 2002, the garden greenhouse at Blue Fox Farm was designed to accommodate a much different crop at the start. Now it’s used for vegetative propagation of many varieties and species of Sedum, thyme and succulent plants, and also growing many other hardy succulents such as Sempervivum, Rosularia and Jovibarba with seed propagation. In the beginning I had originally thought to grow some of the wonderful native plants in my area to sell wholesale to landscapers. After trying this for a while, it was obvious I had neither the time nor the market to pursue it, so my focus changed to growing lots of other plants, mostly perennials and wildflowers custom seeding, and some other ornamental crops as well as vegetables for the organic garden. This handmade wooden greenhouse has also been used very successfully for growing tomatoes and other edibles. The next step was to settle on the fascinating Drought Smart Plants I grow now, and I've never looked back. The design was taken from another greenhouse I had and the flaws of that one were avoided in the new one. I made sure that it had enough headroom in the aisles for taller people, and the door was offset and wide enough to accommodate a wheelbarrow. It has a double door at the back end to enable me to back a truck up to it to load or offload plants and supplies. The benches were sized to accommodate 1020 flats, which are, oddly enough, 10 inches by 20 inches in size. This means that I can have three rows of flats all along each bench. The maximum amount I can fit in the greenhouse is just over 130 flats. Analyze what you require from your greenhouses and keep in mind that a flexible design can be easily altered in the future.
There is also an airtight wood burning heater, which I have used periodically. I tried to grow African violets one year, and kept the wood heater going 24/7, which almost killed me. I gave up after that, and concentrated on less demanding types of plants, like the succulents which only go in there through the summer. I use the garden greenhouse for other purposes than just growing plants. I also have an area for painting rustic signs, and other crafts that I make out of barnboards and twigs. There is room for packing and succulent plant propagating, as well as a repotting area. The floor is native soil, covered with pea gravel for drainage, and the structure itself is rough cut locally supplied lumber. The walls are two layers of poly, and the roof is a single layer of Bob’s Superstrong Plastic. This product is supposed to last up to ten years – this greenhouse is nine years old now in 2012, so we’re nearing the end of the roofs life, and it will have to be replaced soon. 
Now the greenhouse is used primarily in summer from about April onwards for starting vegetables for my organic garden, and, more importantly, as a summer home for my many succulent plants. My nursery depends on having a climate controlled area to propagate my stock in safety.In winter it’s used as storage for pots, flats and hoses, as well as a dry place to work on twiggy projects as the need arises. Even on quite cool winter days, the heat builds up to a balmy 15 degrees Celsius, quite comfortable to work in. If you’re planning to build your own greenhouse here are a few tips to make sure you get full use and enjoyment out of it:
Optional but very handy:
Follow these guidelines and build your perfect garden greenhouse, specifically designed for you and your needs. I've always like galleries of photographs of works in progress; this is the garden greenhouse from the same spot over several years.
This was the first winter of the Greenhouse. Used a lot for crafts as the biggest dry area I had, I made twiggy stuff and got the shelving and benches put together.
During the summer, the greenhouse was used for starting seeds of hardy annuals and vegetables.
Working in the greenhouse is very pleasant first thing in the morning until about 10:00am, but then it gets too hot, even with all the windows open.
The garden is growing up around the greenhouse. In a routine winter, we'll get over 40cm of snow, in increments. This can build up a lot of snow from the roof of the greenhouse where we pull it off.
Many kinds of drought tolerant perennials are displayed in the xeric gardens. The gardens are rarely watered, but rain water is salvaged off any available roof to fill two large barrels in the greenhouse. This serves two purposes - the water is soft, not mineralized as the well water here is, and as the barrels are black, they retain warmth over night preventing any frost damage to tender succulents. Are you an avid gardener interested in learning more about propagation, nursery maintenance, organic growing and garden crafts? Why not be an organic volunteer in the Sedum and succulent nursery and gain some valuable skills (and free plants in payment!) See more pages on fun and funky buildings:
go to Drought Smart Plants home page
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I'm fortunate that in the planning stage, I asked for a frost free water hydrant, which means I can use water all year if needed, and one electrical outlet for fans or heaters. 
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Nursery & Greenhouse Management...
Having your very own greenhouse to use as you like is an unmatched pleasure.
I'm in the very fortunate position of having a wood framed home built garden greenhouse in my garden, with lots of room for propagation, by seed, vegetative and by division.
I use all of these fascinating ways to make more plants:
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