Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Quick Trip to the Exotic Shed

One of my regular gardening routines in the winter, when I get back home from work, is to check up on at least one of the greenhouses or the garden outbuilding (which I'll call a shed for ease of reference) and make sure that the plants stored there are doing fine and taken cared of. I check them in turns, one evening one place and by doing it this way the maintenance is more manageable and short. 

It's a jungle IN there!
With it being already dark when I get back home, I'm not that inclined to spend so much of my evenings outside of the house so having a more streamlined routine, organised and in smaller daily doses suits us just fine. And it gives us a steady dose of gardening fix too, and peace of mind that almost all 'kept under cover' plants are checked on a regular basis.

And so tonight it is the turn of the shed to be checked over. Most of the plants that are in there now are actually the same plants that have been kept there for several winters already and so we know that the plants generally do fine there during the colder months. This shed is quite large for, well, a shed and is fully insulated, for in the past this was somebody else's (the one who built it) utility den. It has a couple of windows too which is handy for letting in some natural lights, hence the plants kept there are not under total darkness.

Parajubaea torallyi var. microcarpa - one of my favourite feather palms!
Getting too tall for the shed? Possibly, but this year they can still fit in without needing to be trimmed - Chamaedorea microspadix
There is also a growlight there that is timed to light up several hours everyday. On previous winters there was no supplemental lighting but last year when we added one it has made a noticeable difference to the health and appearance of the plants, looking much better once they come out from their winter residence and ready to take their spring/summer places out in the garden.

Ferns and palms are the main residents of the shed. We keep all of our Cyathea cooperi here
The Cling Film treatment... (photo: Dicksonia fibrosa)
I wrap some of the bigger, trunked tree ferns that we keep in the shed (and only in the shed, never the ones outside) in cling film... (photo: Cyathea australis)
This is to keep the trunk moist and makes it easier for me to water them. I just pour water onto the crown and the water soaks in and dribbles down, soaking into the trunk without splashing water all over the place (which isn't a good idea inside a wooden structure for obvious reasons). In the spring I unwrap them when they move out into the garden, keeping an eye that they are well watered throughout the growing season. (photo: Dicksonia antarctica)
This outbuilding may be more than your typical shed but we do treat it generally as a, well, shed. A place to store utility items, tools, paints, spare wood, etc. So the plants share the space with them. Maybe one time in the spring we'll get the chance to do a massive clear out of the things that are kept there (how many half used tins of paint do we need to keep?) but for now they all have to be snug there in each other's company. 


One thing that did cross our minds is to convert it to a den or summer house of some sort, making it look more like a lounge inside than, well, a shed. But will we use as such?? That was the question we asked each other and truthfully, neither of us thinks so. So it will remain with this function for now. We just to have do big clear outs from time to time.

Mark :-)

33 comments :

  1. I'd love to have a shed like that. Someday soon you'll have to raise the roof to accommodate your ever-growing plants.

    Wrapping the trunk of tree ferns with cling film is a fantastic idea. I'd never have thought of that.

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    1. Ah Gerhard, if only that's possible :) Some of them will just have to be trimmed, if not...we'll cross the bridge when we get there, lol!

      I've also used clingfilm before to help re-root some tree ferns but they had to be sited in shade so they don't get too warm either. But mainly I use it during winter only.

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  2. It's handy to have that much room to keep your tender plants. Lots of work bringing them in for Winter and back out in Spring though but they're such gorgeous plants it would be worth it.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Hi Cher, it's not that much hard work, but I suppose we just got used to the routine by now. I woouldn't mind having a bigger place to store plants in the future, the bigger the better :)

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  3. The grow lamp would have to make a big difference. I can't imagine having to move plants indoors for Winter. I like the clingwrap idea. Tree ferns hate drying out. I was wondering if it would work here when it's very dry but maybe it would be too hot and they'd cook. Great way to keep the trunk moist though.

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    1. It does Missy, it gives them an extra boost during winter and they look better coming out from winter. I only tend to use the clingfilm during winter but on the odd occasion I had to wrap up tree ferns in the summer, they had to sited in shade. It's a good way of keeping the trunk moist :)

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  4. Your plants sure have cushy winter digs... :)

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    1. They look snug there indeed College Gardener :) Not much walking space though!

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  5. Wonderful to see some pics of this space with plants. And for what it's worth I think you're smart to keep it as a multipurpose shed. People under estimate how much "stuff" an active garden can accumulate. How nice that you've got an out of sight space to store it (and plants) in.

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    1. How true Loree, how much 'stuff' you need to maintain an active garden. Out of sight, out of mind, it's handy to have a space to store utilities, keep them dry and minimise clutter in the garden :)

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  6. Excellent idea about the clingfilm, I shall go and buy a large roll right away! Thanks x

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    1. Hi Libby, I know you keep your trunked tree ferns in the greenhouse over winter. Yes, well worth a try, tree ferns are still very prone to drying out even if put under cover :)

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  7. You are so well organized! I like this shed, it's much better for plants in winter than my garage!

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    1. Thanks Tatyana :) Having the windows there definitely helps in keeping the plants ticking over during winter.

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  8. Looks most warm and cosy in there. I don't think that anybody has told the plants it's winter. I can imagine going in for ten minutes and coming out a couple of hours later.

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    1. Thanks Anna :) We can spend a good amount of time in there if we wished, a little place to get some gardening fix during the winter. Not much walking space left there though, on milder periods we bring out some of them so we have space to walk amongst them.

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  9. Great garden shed! Is there heating as well or just insulation? Everything looks very happy and healthy.

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    1. Hi outlawgardener, there's a little heater there, set to turn on for a few minutes in the evening and once again in the morning. The shed is very well insulated so a little blast of heat is enough to keep the temps there well above freezing.

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  10. That is a mighty fine shed. When I first read the title, I thought you were up to something kinky.

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  11. Plants that head to your patch are very lucky; they know they are going to get the best possible care. Yet again you amaze me with your dedication.

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    1. Sometimes we amaze ourselves too Martin, but we have a routine now for the pots to move in winter so its really not that much stress on what to do and when. Although we do nearly always miss a pot or two at first frosts that need to be moved before the real cold arrives

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  12. So this is how you keep all your exotic plants! I need a shed! (Or else a really expensive, beautifully designed greenhouse!) Great idea to use the shrink wrap.

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    1. A big greenhouse sounds wonderful! We find for these plants they will take lower light levels so an insulated garden shed is cheaper to heat.

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  13. As ever, I am struck by your commitment, nay, dedication, to nurturing your exotic lovelies. I enjoy viewing the results, but even your little and often approach couldn't persuade me to grow things needing so much attention! Your jungle "shed" looks far more attractive than any utility room I have ever seen though...

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    1. Hi Janet, any space would look much better with plants in it :) We do enjoy tending to the plant, a delight in its own way.

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  14. It's like a beauty parlour in there - the ferns are positively basking during their daylight therapy, not to mention the tree ferns moisturing in their cligfilm wraps.

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    1. Hi b-a-g, that's a good way of putting it :) It does remind me a bit of a Victorian parlour, with exotic tree ferns huddled inside a living space

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  15. I guess it is really difficult gardening with winter months. And plants receiving less natural lights get longer faster, but yellowish leaves, botanical term is etiolation. If i am in your conditions, maybe i will be a miniature plant gardener, so it is easy to move them during winter months. That is another use for that cling wrap!

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    1. Hi Andrea, cling wrap can be a versatile tool :) Winter can be tricky but you do find ways to entertain yourself and keep busy.

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  16. I agree...as fun as it sound to have a cool outdoor retreat...it's SO valuable to have a place to store all those gardening odds & ends we all have :-)

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    1. Indeed Scott :) It amazes me how much items are needed to maintain a garden and storage definitely has an important place in a garden.

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  17. Dear Marc and Gaz - The Cling Film treatment looks like an art installation.........please send me your url to my blog as I want to put you on my blog roll (plus pithy site description)

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