Week Five | October 28 | Garden & Giveaway!
For the Fall 2021 One Room Challenge we are building a whole room — a greenhouse! And we will be racing the snow to get it done, too. I’ll let you in on the inspiration board as well as plans for my dream greenhouse — a place for starting seedlings, overwintering tender perennials, and extending our short Colorado growing season. Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
I hope you are all doing well this week. I have Greenhouse news, garden news, and news about The Nice List, too. Oh, and my sponsor, O'Toole’s Garden Centers, is sponsoring a giveaway this week! So let’s get to it. It’s been crazy-busy lately!
Let’s start with the really fun part…
The Giveaway
O’Tooles Garden Centers, here in Colorado, are sponsoring a $100 giveaway on my Instagram this week! I hope you will stop by my feed to enter. This week I went to O’Tooles for some spring bulbs and potted up what I hope will be gorgeous pots of tulips and crocus. And now we wait… but it’s not too late to plant bulbs for spring. In fact, with the warm fall we have had, now is just about perfect. I’ll be doing a LOT of bulb planting this weekend, too. I’m excited to get that going soon. Stop by my feed for all the giveaway details: @MidModernMama on Instagram
The Garden
I have been struck by the changes in our garden as the season shifts more and more rapidly. In particular, the Stumpery has come into its own in the last few weeks. The grasses are changing color, the mums are blooming again, and the acid green of the Heuchera is glorious! We have had frost several times so far, but all of these plants are hardy, so I should get a few more weeks of fall color before the cold truly gets them. And the Stumpery is just an all-around delight! I’ll write up a tutorial for making one sometime soon. They are so easy, so good for encouraging biodiversity in your yard, and really beautiful, too.
The Greenhouse
Unlike our other One Room Challenges, this one doesn’t require much shopping and decorating. I’m not waiting for fixtures or knobs. It’s a very strange feeling, actually. But it won’t be devoid of character or charm, and I’ve been doing a little vintage shopping to give it the cozy feel I aspire to create.
the Greenhouse inspiration board
some of the vintage pieces I have sourced so far
I want to incorporate as much terracotta and green as I can along with some vintage pieces and the utilitarian tools of a working greenhouse. My inspiration board includes several beautiful greenhouses — goals, indeed.
Since so much of this project has required purchasing new items — lumber, insulation, etc. — I hope to buy as many of the decorative elements from second-hand sources as possible.
Even though it isn’t sealed yet, it’s warmer in The Greenhouse! A good sign!
My resident architect has been working every spare minute on The Greenhouse. Some days it feels like nothing is happening, but the progress is steady and sure. The windows are nearly done. The cold frames are nearly done. Which means the building is nearly closed in. Nearly. We have the possibility of snow in the forecast early next week, so this weekend has to be a serious push to get the building enclosed. We are going to make it happen!
The cold frames are achingly close to being enclosed, and one is even filled with compost. The windows are also almost done. It is tantalizing!
The Nice List
Orders for The Nice List begin on Monday, but for those of you who are on my mailing list, you’ll have early access this weekend.
We also have a free gift with purchase as long as supplies last — an upcycled, handmade traveler’s notebook-style cover which holds both The Nice List All Year and The Nice List Christmas Workbook! There aren’t very many of the covers available, so be sure you order early so you get one!
I’m so excited about this new iteration of The Nice List. I hope you are, too!
Goals for this Week:
Finish the roof.
Finish the windows.
Build the cold frames along the back and side wall.
Install the water barrels.
Build the door and install.
Hopefully by next week things will be water-tight. I keep saying that, but maybe this week it is true? We will see!
The Greenhouse Design Considerations
Heat: a greenhouse that doesn’t require heating except perhaps on the coldest of nights as we won’t be running power to the Greenhouse -- at least initially
Hail: We get frequent hail storms here on the Front Range, so a glass roof is pretty-much out of the question. It must be plastic.
Space: I want to be able to overwinter some plants in the greenhouse as well as starting seedlings and plants from cuttings.
Sunlight: I hope to be able to retreat to this warm, sunny spot on cold days -- allowing me to be outside without being freezing. Perhaps even being able to work on a laptop while soaking in some Vitamin D.
Water: I’ll need to be able to water plants in the winter -- preferably without having to use the hose.
Given all of those constraints, we did a lot of research on keeping greenhouses warm -- and cool. We have worked to maximize the amount of sunlight all day and will be using several layers of plastic to create an insulating layer. We will also be creating a Trombe Wall of sorts to store heat during the day and then radiate that heat into the Greenhouse at night. Any space not needed for sun exposure will be heavily insulated to keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer. We have designed a water-collection system to fill two rain barrels inside the Greenhouse which can then be used to water plants as needed. And the interior has been space-planned for storage as well as work area and spaces for plants of all sizes. More details on all of this and how it works to come!
The DIY Greenhouse will be part science experiment, part engineering problem -- and there will be some fun design challenges, too. I am really looking forward to getting all of these pieces in place and letting them work their magic!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Better Homes and Gardens, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Ok. Gotta get back to work! Be sure to follow along on Instagram for daily updates. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Cheers!
Angela
The Fall 2021 ORC Schedule
Week One | Sept 30 | The Before
Week Two | Oct 7 | My Gardening Guru
Week Three | Oct 14 | Garden Beds
Week Four | Oct 21 | Materials & Methods
Week Five | Oct 28 | Construction & Gardening
Week Six | Nov 4 | Making it Beautiful
Week Seven | Nov 11 | Water-Wise Gardening
Week Eight | Nov 18 | Before & After
Thanks to my sponsors for this project! Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
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