Garden House
I don’t want my garden house to be confused with a traditional greenhouse. It is totally not my intention to create something traditional but something unique. The garden house will allow me to grow produce year round, have a sacred space to escape to, and allow me to work to build my well care center and apothecary. 750 square feet of peace and beauty. My new personal definition of a garden house is a small building that contains a garden and work space that is sustainable and earth friendly.
Design
The foundation of the building will be 25’x30’, hence 750 square feet. The location will have to be excavated a little bit to allow for more even ground. The next step will be to frame the house. The base of the walls and the window and door frames will be made from wood. The roof structure will be a combination of wood and pvc pipe. Windows will be glass and window screen as will the door. Early on in development it will look like a greenhouse but as time goes by it will look more like a cottage on the edge of the woods.
The exterior will be surrounded by perennial garden beds for those edibles that require cold stratification in order to grow. To the rear there will be at least one honey beehive that will have an entrance to the inside of the garden house as well as the world at large. Decor of wind chimes, hanging baskets, bird bath, etc. will be included in each garden bed. This is not going to be a small undertaking.
The interior will have two 10×10 rooms to the back of the building. One will be a sitting room/meditation space. A calming, peaceful place to meet with clients to consult with them regarding their well care. Well care you ask? That is another conversation entirely. The sitting room will also be used as an officeThe other room will be a work room with a potting bench, space for drying/curing herbs and spices, creating tinctures, oils, lotions, etc. The space between the two rooms will house tools, worm compost bins, and other maintenance/service machinery and equipment. The will be praying mantis houses for raising these beneficial insects and butterfly houses as well. Hatch, raise, and release for the butterflies to help with dwindling population.
The flooring will be done with a garden fabric base, a layer of sand and pea sized gravel topped with paving stones to make a smooth surface that also allows for water drainage. A smooth surface is important so that people with mobility issues can still come and enjoy. The two rooms will be screened off to give a feeling of privacy. Other structures will include 2’x3’x1.5’ raised beds, as well as vertical growing boxes. All style growing beds will be set on risers to eliminate as much bending and twisting as possible. Again, this is to make it possible for people with mobility issues to enjoy the benefits of gardening.
Water and power needs will be via sustainable methods. Having paid attention to the weather patterns of the last two or three years we seem to get quite a bit of rain, usually at the most inopportune times. So there will be a water catchment system developed, along with a filtration system so that I do not need to tap into our well. I will also be using a very basic solar set up to bring power to the garden house.
The Purpose
The purpose or the combined mission and vision of the garden house is more complicated than just growing food and herbs for my family. I want it to be my office, work space, clinic, apothecary, and education center for my family and my community. I do foresee some expansions in years to come as our society changes and more people are in need of services currently not readily available.
I will be raising funds for this venture through several different methods. One is simply from current employment. Another is through sales of Herbal Academy goods and services. The sale of Cinderite organic soil amendment. And Paypal donations.
That is it for today folks.
I am battling a smoking addiction. Have I cut back, yes way back. I fall off the wagon and get up and back on again. I have been trying to keep up an exercise routine. Don’t ever knock chair exercises, they can kick your ass. Keeping my blood sugar/A1C under control has been a battle but I think the PCP and I have finally come up with a plan of action.
The garden was a bust between surgeries, hospitalizations, kids not sure what to do (they do but I think they were overwhelmed), the weather, and life in general. So the new plan is to build a garden house. Not just a greenhouse for year round growing but more like an indoor/outdoor house. Raised bed and vertical growing, work area and a sitting area on the inside. We will raise butterflies for release, praying mantis for insect control, and honeybees. all in the garden house. The outside will have perennial beds, wind chimes, and other items. I want it to look like a little cottage on the edge of the woods. Eventually I want to see clients here. We will get to the client stuff later on.
