February in the greenhouse

I’ve not done much in the garden recently as it’s been so windy and cold. Yes I confess that I’m a fair weather gardener. I did water the tender plants I’ve got in the greenhouse. They can go for quite a long time without attention but we have had some sun recently so it can get quite warm in there.

The greenhouse is lined with bubble fabric for extra protection and there is an electric heater which keeps the temperature below freezing. The biggest problem is lack of ventilation which can lead to mildew and mould (e.g. botrytis) . Susceptible plants can be damaged and some die back completely. Today I found I’d lost one of my pelargoniums - drat. It was covered in fuzz. I try to leave the greenhouse door open occasionally but there are so many plants crowded together that casualties are unavoidable. As you can see from the picture below there isn’t much spare room.

Note the tasteful Greek decorative plate on the far wall. It’s meant to remind me of hot sun and blue, sunny skies. Somehow it’s not working this month.

Some plants have grown too big to keep inside. My variegated agave (Agave americana “Variegata”) is one example. Not only is it now too heavy to move easily it is also lethal because of its spines. This year it is spending the winter wrapped up in fleece and bubble fabric. It’s also staked to the ground with rope to stop the protection blowing away in high winds. Pretty it isn’t, but I hope it works.