In March 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported that backyard greenhouses are the next big thing. “The backyard greenhouse is finally getting some respect,” writes Anne Marie Chaker in her article, Backyard Greenhouse: The New Woman Cave?, “Avid gardeners, many of them retired baby boomers, are building greenhouses not just for gardening, but also for crafting, reading, and lounging—in essence, a female version of the “man cave.”

Not only are greenhouses great for growing flowers and vegetables year-round, but they create a unique living space as well. How about throwing your next book club meeting in the green house? International Greenhouse Co reports that greenhouse sales have increased 30% in the past 3 years alone. Why not join the trend and build your own backyard escape?

To Kit or Not To Kit… That is the Question

The easiest way to build your own greenhouse is to purchase a greenhouse kit. There are dozens of websites selling greenhouse kits, ranging from small, simple styles to huge, extravagant designs. For ideas, inspiration, and comparison purposes, check out the green house kits at Greenhouse Kit (http://www.greenhousekit.com/), 4 Season Greenhouse (http://www.4seasongreenhouse.com/), and The Greenhouse Catalog (http://www.greenhousecatalog.com/). You’ll be sure to find lots of ideas, whether you intend to use a kit or design your own.

If you opt not to buy a kit, you’ll need to plan out your greenhouse before you take another step. Decide what you want it to look like, what materials you’ll need, and how much of each type of material you’ll need to buy. FloridaGardener.com states than in order to build a 32’x10’x10’ greenhouse, you’ll need 2’’x12’’ planks for the sides of your raised beds, 2’’x4’’ lumber for multiple areas, steel t-type fenceposts for staking beds, 20’x1/2’’ steel rebar, 20’x3/4’’ PVC pipes, ¾’’ metal pipe, pipe hanger brackets, and screws, UV-resistant greenhouse plastic, rabbit or gopher wire, and potting soil. That should give you a fairly good idea how what sort of materials—and how many materials—you’ll need for your project. Of course, these will vary with the size and style greenhouse you wish to build.

One last consideration: choose a location that has good sun exposure and is easily accessible to electricity and water. These will all be important to the success of your greenhouse.

Creating Your Backyard Masterpiece

Once you have all your supplies, you can begin to create the backyard greenhouse of your dreams. You’ll need an extra helper or two! There are many different styles of greenhouses, and the style you choose determines exactly how it’s built. For a wooden-framed green house, construct a wooden frame and attach PCV pipe to hold up the greenhouse plastic. The PVC pipes form the bones of your greenhouse’s walls. For illustrated instructions as to how to accomplish this, check out the article “A Small Backyard Greenhouse”(http://web.archive.org/web/20080714191144/http://www.sd1new.net/GardenPages/greenhouse.htm).

PVC Hoop-style greenhouse do not require a wooden frame and are made entirely of PVC pipe and greenhouse plastic. For detailed instructions how to construct this style of greenhouse, check out The Westside Gardener (http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html).

If you opted for a greenhouse kit, carefully follow the included instructions.  No matter what style greenhouse you choose, be sure to use sturdy, high-quality building materials! This will prevent your greenhouse from being toppled or destroyed by wind or snow.

Preparing to Plant- Let’s Get This Garden Growing!

The greenhouse is only half done when the walls are up. Now it’s time to prepare your beds. You can build raised flower beds using 2’x4’s. Fill your beds with rich potting soil. It may also be beneficial to introduce earthworms to the environment.

You can configure the inside of your greenhouse to best fit your needs. Add as many or as few beds as you like. Add a wicker chair or recliner, electricity and interesting lighting features and your outdoor escape is ready to go. You’re ready to enjoy a beautiful garden year-round and may just have found your new favorite reading spot. 

When it comes to things that children adore, a playhouse is very near the top of that list. Every child simply loves having a place in their backyard that they can call their very own. One of the best ways to do this is to give them a playhouse. From a simple, low-cost, one room structure, to a massive, multi-room playhouse with all the bells and whistles, building a playhouse can be a fun adventure your children will love!

Before beginning to building your first playhouse, there are some things you will need to consider. First of all, you will have to consider the size of the playhouse you want to build. A good first question is the one that asks, “Do you want it to be a single room or have multiple rooms?” Once you have that little piece of all-important information in place, you can then transition to the second inquiry. Will there be a sweet and highly desired by the children climbing rope or possibly some swings and a slide. These early questions in the playhouse building process may seem as if they could stand to wait until the end but you would be surprised on just how hard it can be to retrofit a playhouse after the fact.

Make certain before you start shopping for playhouse plans, that you have taken a good and reliable measurement of the entire yard. In this way, you can then use the Algebra that you learned in school to the best use. And you thought you would never have to use that silly mathematics ever again!

Making your yard ready for a playhouse is relatively simplistic, as the only real aspect that you must contend with, is the one that is the formulation of the playhouse dimensions, and the yard itself. In layman’s terms, the playhouse must fit with room to spare on all sides in the yard. Another tip that will go a long way in the satisfaction department for the children concerns a level spot. You need to locate one or create one, as there is nothing as frustrating, even for a child, than leaning towards one side when inside the playhouse.

Now that you have some idea as to the dimensions that you have to work with you can now take a kid poll on just what type of playhouse is most desired. Please consider what material you want around the structure as this will be easiest to procure right along with the chosen playhouse design.

For the nesting box, start with ripping a 2x4x8' plank down the center. You need to make two frames as shown below.

Either purchase some 1x2 post or rip another 2x4x8' plank down the center. Cut as shown and attach to the frame pieces on the inside corners.

Rip pieces of plywood sheet to wrap around three sides. Be sure to measure and layout the cuts to make and be sure they fit flush. Start with the longest sides, cut a rear piece to cover both ends. Attach a handle if you would like.

Cut a dowel to just fit snugly inside the nesting box. Use a rubber mallet or dead-blow hammer to tap the dowel in place just below the top rim of the nesting box. Attach the dowel to plywood with screws through the exterior face of the plywood. Make sure the dowel is BELOW the frame!

Tip the nesting box on its top and cut a piece of plywood to fit the bottom. Attach to the frame with screws. Make sure the bottom is cut to fit (even slightly smaller) so the nesting box will fit in the spaces on the completed coop.

Use a hinge to attach the front piece of plywood to the top, front edge. You will want to attach the hinge to the plywood before attaching the hinge to the nesting box frame. This way you can ensure the nesting box opens and closes properly. Use a hook and eye-pin to lock the nesting box closed.