rgecaprock
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 3, 2005
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I was just thinking of how I can go outside and see redbud trees in bloom and green grass and flowers everwhere and thought of you all freezingin thebleak short days there. Just wanted to let you know this made me think of you.Ramona
<H2>Tropical Getaway is Steps Away </H2>
WHEN most of her neighbors are holed up in their houses during winter, Lisa V. of Peoria, Illinois escapes to the tropics—just outside her front door. “My husband and I constructed a simple greenhouse on our front porch to house my ever-growing collection of tropical plants,” she explains.
“We enclosed the porch with two layers of 8 mil clear plastic that’s held in place with a porch screening kit. We just substituted plastic for the screening material. Brackets on both sides of a two-by-four frame hold two sheets of plastic in place so that there’s an air gap between them. This air barrier helps insulate the greenhouse.
“Of course, the greenhouse also needs to be heated to protect the plants from our harsh Midwest winters. So we added a small furnace and adequate ventilation. Now our eight palm trees and pair of banana trees have plenty of room to spread, and I have even more space to expand my plant collection!”
<H2>Tropical Getaway is Steps Away </H2>
WHEN most of her neighbors are holed up in their houses during winter, Lisa V. of Peoria, Illinois escapes to the tropics—just outside her front door. “My husband and I constructed a simple greenhouse on our front porch to house my ever-growing collection of tropical plants,” she explains.
“We enclosed the porch with two layers of 8 mil clear plastic that’s held in place with a porch screening kit. We just substituted plastic for the screening material. Brackets on both sides of a two-by-four frame hold two sheets of plastic in place so that there’s an air gap between them. This air barrier helps insulate the greenhouse.
“Of course, the greenhouse also needs to be heated to protect the plants from our harsh Midwest winters. So we added a small furnace and adequate ventilation. Now our eight palm trees and pair of banana trees have plenty of room to spread, and I have even more space to expand my plant collection!”
