The Greenhouse

One of the nicest feelings one can experience is seeing the fruit of one's hard work...

Early last summer, some friends of ours decided to emigrate back to their home Country, Egypt, and they put their house on the market.

In their garden, they had a small, but rather pretty greenhouse, and my wife has always admired its elegant shape and understated appearance.. So, before they sell the house, we asked them if we could buy the greenhouse, but they insisted that we can simply 'have it'.. and despite all our insistence, they totally refused to accept any payment...

So, one Friday afternoon in June, I rented a small van, drove all the way to Burton-on-Trent where they lived, and spent a few hours carefully dismantling the delicate glass and hard wood structure.. Eventually, I managed to load all the bits and pieces in the van, and drove back home.. It was nearly dawn break before I got home..

Due to the bad weather we had most of the summer, and because I had so many other commitments at the time, my plans to build the greenhouse were put on the back-burner for a while...

When I returned from my trip to Damascus, I thought I'd better start with my little project.. First of all, I had to choose a spot in the garden.. and I found the ideal place: a sunny spot close to the vegetable patch, away from the large trees.. (Well.. in our garden, you can never get completely away from the large trees.. We have some 35 of them, some are over 80 years old!..)..

So, armed with my iPod...

...and a few basic tools...


.. I started to work..

I carefully measured and marked the area I had chosen..

and started digging the soil up..

...until I ended up with a big hole!..

Then, having ordered the chippings, the sand, and the flagstones in advance, I laid the edging blocks, and began filling the hole with one-and-a-half tonne of stone chippings, then one-tonne of sand..

Then, after firmly compacting the base, I laid the flagstones.. It took a whole weekend to do all that, but the result was quite pleasing..

The spot I had chosen was on an incline, so before I could erect the greenhouse, I had to build a new base to compensate for the gradient.. otherwise, the greenhouse would come up lopsided!.. Now that was not as easy a task as I thought.. Plenty of thought and planning went into it, and numerous measurements and calculations were needed.. laser pointers and multi-directional spirit levels were used to ensure that the base ended up absolutely level...

Then, it was time to face the most hateful task.. Before I could re-assemble the greenhouse, I need to CLEAN it!.. And, boy, was it filthy!!.. All the glass and wooden panels were covered with moss, dust, cobwebs, and God-Almighty gunge!!..

Each had to be individually scrubbed clean before I could even think of fitting them back together...

So, after several hours of cleaning and scrubbing, the panels were ready to be assembled..

I was a bit concerned that I might need another pair of hands to do it.. I could have easily recruited the help of a good friend of mine, but it would have meant waiting until both of us are free, and hoping that it would coincide with decent weather!!.. So, I thought I'd take my chances..


I had to wait for a spell of good weather.. I did not want to battle against the elements with no help!.. So, one sunny Saturday, I set about putting the structure together.. It did not take me long to get going, and within a few hours of steady, sustaied effort, the main frame of the greenhouse was erect, and I went on to assemble the roof.. Not wanting to waste the rare opportunity of the good weather, I carried on well after dark, and had to resort to using floodlights to iluminate the area...

It was after midnight before I finally stopped!.. After a hot shower, I collapsed in a heap, completely exhausted.. That night, I slept like I had not slept in ages!...

Next morning, I gave the woodwork a coat of paint.. White on the outside, and dark green on the inside (my wife's instructions, of course..).. Then, I fitted the worktops and shelves, and the roof was ready to be lifted on top of the frame.. But that I could not do on my own.. Well, you know the saying: 'The impossible: we do immedaitely. Miracles might take a short while!...'

So, I had to wait a couple of weeks until my son and daughter came home one weekend, and with their help, and with a few adjustments, the roof went on, and the structure was complete.. As a matter of fact, we had to do it in driving rain, simply because it would be several weeks before I can have them both at home again, with no guarantee that the weather would be any better, anyway..

In fact, in one stormy night, one of the sliding door panels was blown off while it was leaning against the wall, and the glass pane was shaterred..

It was not a major problem.. It took a quick trip to the local glazier and glass merchant, followed by a few minutes of work, and the panel was as good as new..

So, the Greenhouse is now up.. It's not big, but it is quite pretty.. Well, I think it is, anyway..

It took me nearly five months to finish it, but hey, it was a solo effort.. well, almost!.. Just think Michaelangelo and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel!.. It took him four whole years to do it.. OK, his masterpiece was a little bit more elaborate than mine, but you get the picture!...

So, now the ball, as the saying goes, is in my court... It is up to me to ensure that the Greenhouse is used effectively.. Time and other commitments permitting, I will soon have it full of young plants, tender home-grown vegetables, and beautiful brightly-coloured flowers..

And when that happens, I will be back with some more pictures...