My tiny greenhouse sits upon the foundation of the original greenhouse that used to supply food and flowers for the estate that my house, formerly a barn, used to be a part of. When we purchased our home over 30 years ago, I discovered that it used to be heated with a coal furnace. There is probably over two tons of coal next to its remnants below the ground.
For years, I tried to find out, with little success, what it looked like as the glass structure had been removed over 50 years ago.Then, by a weird chance, last year my neighbor Donna came upon original blueprints and documents for the estate including the greenhouse. It was designed by architects in NYC in 1931. From the documents I can only imagine that it was splendid.
Looking at the tattered and water stained blueprints, the greenhouse was fully equipped with heat, water and electricity. (I knew this from rusty old pipes and conduit that I found over time in the area.) There is a place for a potting bench, stairs into the basement and extensive raised beds and benches to hold plants and flats of seedlings. During this cold streak I imagine entering this greenhouse Xanadu and feeling the blast of warm tropical air fill my lungs. I can smell the jasmine (Jasminum) in the air and see flats of primroses (Primula vulgaris) and pansies (Viola tricolor var hortensis) being started for Spring.
