Island Life Magazine Ltd January/February 2006 | Page 24

GARDENING

A greenhouse
Without the
glass
They’re an essential feature of the English
garden – but if greenhouses have one big
drawback, it’s all that glass.
People with children or animals worry about
accidents, there’s always the chance of breakage
from high winds or flying footballs – and all that
potting, pricking out or watering under glass can
expose gardeners to high intensity UV rays.
So it’s not surprising that a new range of nonglass greenhouses introduced at the two Honnor
& Jeffrey garden centres in Freshwater and
Sandown last year were such an instant hit.
The Gardman greenhouses are made of tough
polycarbonate on a stylish green-coated
aluminium frame and matching base, which
makes them not only good to look at, but their
performance is second to none.
The polycarbonate panels are UV-treated, which
gives gardeners protection from the sun’s
harmful rays, as well as frost protection for
tender plants and a longer life for the
greenhouse. The enamel-coated frame,
meanwhile, will not rust or rot, making it
virtually maintenance-free.
The best news of all is that the most popular 8ft
x 6ft version of the greenhouse comes in at just
£299 complete – which earned it a “Best Buy”
rating in the Sun newspaper’s gardening section
last year.
Also available are 6ft x 4ft and 6ft x 6ft versions
of the greenhouse – along with a neat little leanto model that’s brand new for this year. The
lean-to is perfect for gardeners with limited
outdoor space, or those who want to add some
additional greenhouse capacity.

It’s a great way to get children
involved in the process of growing
their own food, too, adds Tim.

According to Tim Honnor, a fourth generation
member of his family’s business, the garden
centres are seeing something of a revival in
customer enthusiasm for growing their own
vegetables, with sales of veg seeds outstripping
those of ornamentals in recent years.

Having been in the family’s gardening
business so long, Tim also observes
that whenever in the past a financial
recession has loomed, people have
always turned back to growing some
of their own food.

He puts it down to concerns over mass-produced
supermarket produce, and says this may be why
families now seem to want to re-discover the
joys of growing salad crops and veggies in their
own greenhouse.

“We’ve seen it happen during
recessions twice before in the past,
and as things are starting to look tight
in the economy now, it’s not
surprising for us to see a similar trend
for home-grown produce happening
all over again”.

“There’s nothing quite like the taste or the
pleasure of eating vegetables you’ve grown in
your own garden,” he says.

24

Call into Dalverton Garden Centre, Newport
Road, Sandown or call them on IW 868602