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Before!
Wood Rat is figuring out where to put a wall.
The temporary shade area between the greenhouse and the neighbor fence is still up, as is the 4 foot fence, required because we have a swimming pool in this area. |
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| Starting to frame up the south (far) and north (near) walls |
Before even figuring out what materials to use, we had to be clear about the goal. I emailed my go-to propagation advisor Denise, a professional in the field of greenhouse operations, who gave me these off-the-cuff thoughts:
Greenhouses that are constructed with shade cloth covering usually use 60% cover over the top and the sides with some sides left open for moving things in and out and possibly to help the air flow. The shade cloth provides an even shade pattern. If you are using the laths I would say 50% minimum especially if it is hot and sunny where the house is going to be built. However, I don't know the size of your structure, how the air flow will be in your structure, nor how much shade will be created by "solid" walls. Another aspect you might want to consider is how much and how hard the water will be falling thru the lath slots in the roof when it rains. I expect it will be one of those try it and see how it works, learn as you go projects.
In the end, we went with solid 1-inch bamboo walls to match the rest of the fence, and a roof of pre-made panels of trellis that we (by which I mean Wood Rat) cut to fit and attached to rafters.
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| We decided it should look nice and function as shady seating for humans when not packed out with plants. |
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| Fortunately my step-son - looking critically on in this shot - has a great eye for aesthetics and put us right many times. |
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| Here's how it looks (roof work in progress) from the other side. Looks nicer without the shade cloth on the greenhouse, I haveta say. |
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| Here two humans - one a four legged one - are enjoying the shade. We went with a thick layer of "golden nugget" mulch for the floor - we use this in many places on the property. |
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| It sure is handy having a Wood Rat around the place! |
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| I wanted the roof to extend out to maximize the shade. It's probably about 50% shade, but then with the solid walls, there are some areas with deeper shade. We cut the ends of the rafters at an angle, to match the ones on the house. |
If I need more protection from hard rains, or from summer sun, I can throw some shade cloth over the top. For winter winds slicing through the gaps in the bamboo, which we have already experienced, I might try to create a knee-high barrier, maybe just putting boards on the inside of the bamboo fence on the south end, where winds generally come from. That should protect pots sitting on the ground some. If they need it.
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Pretty, with morning light angling down.
There's a new shady nook on the right of the wall, too - what should I put there? A flowering currant? Might get too much afternoon sun. Hmmm. |
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| We added some shelving there on the left, and I put the mini-greenhouse on the right, since covered it over to protect some cuttings. Then I started loading her up with plants! |
I know I'm a lucky mouse - This is the best Christmas present ever!
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