Buying a new greenhouse is an exciting time for any gardener and can take a lot of careful planning. Selecting the type and size of greenhouse and selecting where it will be built is top of the list.

It needs to be in a sunny spot so that seeds will germinate and seedlings grow. When the strength of the sun increases towards the end of spring and through summer, you will need to add shading to windows to prevent plants from being scorched by the sun. Luckily we manufacture a revolutionary Peelable Glass Paint that makes greenhouse shading easy and decorative!

Lots of advice is available to help you decide the best location for your greenhouse, from magazines to blog sites and greenhouse manufacturers.

Choosing the size and style of a greenhouse is now a lot better than it used to be as there is such a fantastic choice of greenhouse designs available, with sizes to sit on a balcony up to ones that would house a large dinner party. I would always go for the biggest one you can fit in as it’s so easy to fill them. Whether you’re growing flowers, vegetables or a mixture of both, you’ll need plenty of space for sowing, seedlings, growing on and over-wintering.

As greenhouses move from being purely practical to multi-purpose spaces for growing, storing and even entertaining, designs are a lot more complex and decorative. Price tags can be enormous but if you shop around you can find some great solutions to fit your budget.

Personally I would always select a timber framed greenhouse as I find them a lot more attractive than metal. Timber needs protecting from effects of the sun and weather. Using a good wood paint to protect your timber is also an opportunity to colour co-ordinate your greenhouse with planting, your home, or to create a striking feature in your garden.

Paint your greenhouse as soon as you can to prevent moisture getting into the timber and the sun fading and staining the wood. Even hardwood needs treating. Oak gets stained by water and the colour fades to grey. The beautiful rich red of cedar is the fastest to fade with the sun’s UV and quickly goes grey.

To stop the natural colour of timber from fading, paint on two coats of UV Clear Wood Paint. This high-performing water-based wood paint will produce a long-lasting water-repellent protective coating with the UV blockers preventing UV fade for a couple of years. Add maintenance coats to keep the UV blockers at strength and when nature finally takes its course you can use natural wood tones from the translucent wood paint range to restore the original look, such as with Elder for that natural cedar look.