"Sadie" wrote ...

I would like to have a 'place' in my garden to where I could retreat.
I want to take my time planning and end up with somewhere that serves
all purposes; potting shed, greenhouse etc probably getting my end
design made up for me.

The trouble is I have never had a greenhouse and I don't know what are
essential features and which are money wasters. Although I am very
keen, I don't have a lot of money to spend. I would love to have
somewhere large enough to be comfortable and entice me in during the
dark winter time.

Have any of you advice or experiences that I could benefit from?

I had to make my own greenhouse due to space constraints, but the design
fixtures and fittings will, to some extent, depend on what you want to grow
in your greenhouse. There is some difference between what summer tomatoes
need and what tropical orchids need.

Keep a separate potting shed for potting and keeping the "stuff" and the
greenhouse for plants only. So many greenhouses turn into sheds, and not
being able to have a proper one myself it really bugs me. :-(

Position the greenhouse towards the northern edge of your property so the
light reaching it is under your control and not dependant on your southern
neighbour not planting a 20ft high hedge leaving you with a greenhouse for
ferns only. Seen it!
You want roof vents and low down louver vents both of which can be
automatically controlled, which I recommend. This will allow a chimney
effect in the hot sun so keeping the greenhouse cooler and with the
automatic openers would not be dependant on someone being available to open
them.
Electricity is a good idea too for heating in the winter and/or the spring
planting season. Either use a heater with a built in thermostat, or for
better control, one with a separate thermostat.
Whilst it's a good idea to save the rainwater from the roof for watering
plants it's also good to have a ready water supply nearby to supplement it.
Get decent benches for the greenhouse if you wish to grow flowering plants
and a shelf underneath is good for storing those plants that die back over
winter (with pots on their sides to ensure they keep dry).
Most of this equipment is available at http://www.twowests.co.uk/ or
http://kayshorticulture.com/


--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London