Benefits of a Lean-To Greenhouse
A lean-to greenhouse is less expensive than a freestanding greenhouse to buy, heat and maintain.
Greenhouses are well known for poor insulation. This means that if you want to fully protect any plants that aren’t hardy during the winter months or sow seed early in the year, a freestanding greenhouse would have to be heated.
However, a smaller lean-to with less glazing and adjacent to a relatively warm wall, with maybe a vent introducing heat from the house, is a warm environment. This will extend the growing season, help you to raise a larger variety of plants and save you money on heating.
They also offer easy access, everything is within reach and, particularly in the winter you will be grateful for a lean-to’s proximity to the house. At any time of the year, there’s less of a distance to carry watering cans and installing electricity will be an easier and cheaper option.
Conservatory or Garden Room
You can even have direct access from your house so that larger lean-to's become small conservatories and garden rooms. Particularly if the lean-to is south facing, the solar heat from the greenhouse can also help warm the house, reducing your heating bills still further.
As less of your garden is taken up, this will free up space for perhaps a pond or, if you have children, leave a larger area for them to play on (in addition to lessening the risk of broken glass!).
Don’t worry too much about the number of plants you can grow. They’ll still be a wide range to keep you busy including enough room perhaps for tomatoes and other vegetables in grow bags or pots.
For whatever reason you are considering buying a lean-to greenhouse, there are many sizes and styles to choose from including metal and wooden frames.
They also come with the same extras as freestanding greenhouses such as staging and opening vents, manual or automatic.
All major greenhouse manufacturers offer a lean-to option, so there’s plenty of choices. And don’t forget, they are not only valuable workspaces for gardeners, but a lean-to can also add real style to your house.