Day 6: Let's Get Some PLANTS Up in Here!

 Sunday October 29 dawned gray and pouring, but still warm. Shila couldn't wait to see the new space any longer. I couldn't WAIT to show it to her. It was so wonderful to experience her reaction to finally being able to walk into the greenhouse!   Plus, it's the closest I can get you to walking into it yourself. I think you can see why she's such a wonderful friend. My joy is her joy, and it goes the other way, too.   

                                               

One thing she can be depended upon to do is to flip out with exactly the right amount of enthusiasm and joy (turned up to 11) that the situation warrants. I love her for that!

Shila also came because she knew I was in a real crunch. She wanted to help me get the two big Creole Lady hibiscus down out of the tower room before it got too cold to take them outside and hose them down. A week ago, I arrived at her house with pots and clippers and together we repotted her entire plant collection. It was EPIC. We are one hell of a team.

That cold weather was the real time pressure I was facing. The poor plants were absolutely felted in aphids and I was determined to get them clean and free of bugs before installing them in the new space. Man, it was SO much easier bringing them downstairs than up had been (not surprisingly; gravity was working with us), but it was also a breeze to do it together. I do everything by myself, and so does Shila, but two people can do so much more than one.

It was a hibiscus douche to remember. I sprayed the crap out of those trees. oooh look at that space, framed by crimson maple leaves...nice shot Sheels!

Photos by Shila Wilson

I'm smiling because since I wrote this, I've already taken the hibs out for another spray and douche. It's no biggie to roll them out the door and have at it with the hose. In the little Groanhouse, I had to unload most of the plants just to get one hibiscus out. This is wonderful! I expect to have many fewer aphids and much less spraying this winter than ever before. 

Had to take a selfie once we got some plants inside. 

After Shila left, I kept bringing plants downstairs, from all over the house. I still didn't have any heat in there, but it was still warm, and I was relying on Walter to show up that afternoon.  I was just beginning to wonder where Walter might be when he and Colton showed up around 1 pm to lay the gas line and install the heater. Thank goodness!  He'd spent the morning getting all the stuff he'd need. I was so, so grateful. Shopping for pipe and fittings is second nature to him. Enemy territory for me. He simply knew what diameter pipe each piece was, and he brought the right stuff  to do the job. 

I was madly moving plants in even as they were working on installing the pipe and stove. 

I simply couldn't wait any longer to get plants in there!

I couldn't believe how many plants I had, stuffed in every window in the house, and how beautiful they all were. I had had to bring them in weeks ago when it went down to the upper 30's. Most had whiled away the time in the tower room, which gets great sun, although it gets very hot up there on warm days. Obviously they hadn't suffered much! But really, the house was just loaded, every good window crowded with plants reaching for light. 

I was so thankful I'd have heat by evening, because the wind was picking up and it was starting to get chilly. The installation wasn't easy in the awful sticky  mud and rain, but by nightfall there was heat in the new greenhouse! Walter and Colton to the rescue!

Thank goodness for friends, friends you can call and hire in a pinch. 

Oh, but I wasn't home free yet. Not by a long shot. The heating fun was only beginning. 

There's always a Rest of the Story. 

Day 4: Finishing Touches

Friday, October 27 was the last day of installation. They'd have gotten it done in a marathon three days but for two panes of glass that were the wrong size. Those had to be shipped by air from South Carolina so they could be installed. The two panes arrived at 11:30 AM via UPS (Yay UPS!)  and work resumed. The team told me that this happens in roughly 3/4 of the jobs they do, so they have to remain flexile and ready to stay another day or two no matter how well things go. Bob said the moment he took those two odd panes out of the box he knew they were the wrong size. Ut-oh. 

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And it was Bob who got to climb up on the roof to install them, in a soaking drizzle that made the panes extremely slippery. He used suction cups as footholds so he wouldn't slip off the roof. It was a bit dizzying to watch, especially from below. Heart in throat! 

This was another  "So you thought you could find a local installer?" moment.

   

Thanks to Chip Ditchendorf, I have a fabulous electrician to wire up the louver motor and install another outlet, and help me string fancy mood lighting.

I'd also have to get the gas line run and a heater installed. My work was just beginning! And that would be a whole story in itself.

But for now it was time for the McCollister brothers to take a victory lap and for Tim, their social media chief, to take some photos for their YouTube channel. The whole time, Tim had a GoPro set up to record the installation on timelapse. I was THRILLED when I saw that camera, and Tim will share a link when it's all edited and up on their channel. Then I'll publish it on the blog. What FUN to see it go up at warp speed!

I needed a shot of this awesome crew with their hardworking and hard-begging Snoopervisor.

From left, Tim, Curtis, Brian and Bob McCollister.

Curtis and I were sad to see them leave, but also thrilled and relieved that the installation had gone so smoothly. 

At last, I could go inside and not be in the way. It was mine now.

Thursday night, before the last two panes were installed, I finally entered the structure from my bedroom for the first time. I love the absolute wonder in my voice as it sinks in on me that I've added another space onto the house--something I had never understood viscerally until this moment.

  

Friday afternoon, when it was finally roofed and I was alone, I made a table with one of the wrong-sized panels and did some writing.

I sent the photo to Bob and got this sweet text back.

Before they left, I asked Tim to take some photos of me with the finished structure, since Liam, my resident personal photographer and videographer, has moved to Columbus, and attempts to teach Curtis to take photos have failed.

                               How good of the Japanese maple to be in full blazing color for this shoot! 

The greenhouse itself was finished,  and all it needed now was wiring for the louver motor (not time sensitive) and, um, HEAT (highly time sensitive). That would be a race against a coming deluge and cold front, to get a heater installed in time to get some plants inside. I was thrilled and relieved the structure was up and so beautiful. But my work was not yet done, and there were curveballs yet to come. One big fat curveball, and I'm still dealing with it, pulling in knowledgeable friends right, left and center.

End of Day Three: Glam Shots

I started my day with a Curtis walk around the property, as we always do, rain or shine. The blackberries are just--chef's kiss, so fabulous. All I want to do is paint little birds in blackberry foliage in October. But I don't, because there's this thing going on at my house right now. I cannot tell you how all-consuming it is to have this going on around me. It keeps me here and dealing with all the change.

I have considerable fear of missing out on the fall foliage display here in my favorite places in Ohio--I yearn to drive through Amish country right now! But my bonsais do their best to placate me. This one is on fire in three colors. Wow, what a beauty!

By the end of the third day, the doors went on. Oh are they wonderful. They're full-size professional looking doors, self-closing with hydraulics. You could get a garden cart through them. I'm already wishing they had a screen option on the top half. I'm worried that if I leave them propped open to ventilate in spring and summer, the squirrels and rabbits will just walk in and destroy my plants, as they did in the Groanhouse. What a shock to walk into your greenhouse and find your geraniums and hibiscus in rubble on the floor. I'm going to have to figure out something for that--maybe a sturdy screened insert for one. No idea how to pull it off, but I'll be thinking about what I can do.

Yes, I intend to grow in here year round, if I can, and if it doesn't get too hot. 

To that end, there are three panes at the apex of the ceiling that are connected to an electric motor.

That motor will hook up to a thermostat, and it will automatically raise the three louvers about 6" when the heat builds to a certain temperature. I'm sure that, coupled with the fan in the rafters, that will cool it down quickly. 

I've found an electrician who will come and wire this in for me, and put another outlet or two in for the inevitable twinkle lights, laptops, sound system...whatever. I'm in total womancave space here. He just left after assessing the project and it sounds like he can suspend the light cords from magnetic anchors (because there is absolutely nothing that can be attached to on this frame). Then he can wire my little lights so I can flip a switch and turn them on! 

Below is the suspended fan, and a nice interior shot. There are crank out windows on either side, but they only open about 6". Wish they cranked all the way out! Maybe I won't have to worry too much about it getting too hot in here. The solarium is on the west side of the house, and it is shielded from direct sun by the tower above until pretty late in the afternoon (say 2:00 on). There are also birch clumps to shade it. I knew if I put a greenhouse on the east or south side, it would cook everything, louvers or no, because that's unobstructed full blasting sun from dawn until 1 or 2 pm. So the west side was the obvious choice. The things I grow don't need that much sun!

I got to see what Curtis was up to on lunch break...begging shamelessly, and scoring, too. That dog. 

 

The McCollisters discovered that two of the louver panes were the wrong size, so they were becalmed until two that were the right size could be airlifted from Florian Glass in South Carolina. They got a chance to clean up the yard and haul all the trash into the garage (burnables) or out to the road for pickup. 

While they did that, I cooked a meal of gratitude: homemade chicken pot pie and a custard pie with graham cracker crust, topped with persimmons I'd foraged on Tuesday from my favorite trees in Marietta. I picked up 10 lb. which worked out to 5 1/2 lb of pulp.  If I say so myself, it was delicious. Even if persimmons were a hard sell for this particular crowd. From the moment I met this crew, I knew I wanted to make them a nice meal. So that kept me busy all afternoon, and out of their hair. 

Then it was time for some victory laps!

and a glamour shot! So good of that Japanese maple to be deep maroon right now! Isn't she a beauty?

Now all I had to do was find an electrician for the louver motor, and a gas technician to hook up a space heater. Chip Ditchendorf rescued me on the electrician, but it took seven calls to find someone to help with the gas hookup. Lord have mercy. Gotta say I'm weary of fighting my way upstream here, but these are the times. Anyone who does house repair/installation/renovation work is booked up to their eyeballs. 

I finally called my friend Walter Dean, who also helps me mow and burn, and he came through, bigtime!

However the gas hookup was not to be a smooth ride, as you will see in subsequent posts.

Mr. Murphy and his Law are my constant companions. 

So it was out to the meadow we went, to gaze at the colors and breathe and try to calm down and know that all would happen in its time.

And the house was lit afire by the setting sun, in a field of burning sumac. 

 

Houston, We Have the Glass

Because of all the delays back in January when I was being strung along by the Dematerializing Glass Installer, I'd been told to expect my glass to be delivered in November. There's an eight month lagtime between laying down your first deposit until the glass finally ships. Whew. That'll cool your jets. And then, out of nowhere, I got a call in July telling me the glass would be shipping at the end of August. Holy cow. Now that changes things! Hence my mad scramble to firm up the mason. You see, my part in all this was having a concrete foundation with monolithic footers poured, and having the supporting walls done before the glass got here, or Florian Glass simply would refuse to deliver the glass. They have no place to store it and everything has to be dead ready when they ship.

The problem is, I didn't know whether the glass shipment would take hours, days, weeks, or months. It was all a big mystery. As the weeks wore on, I began to wonder if it would even arrive before frost. Some nights dipped into the upper 40's. It was invigorating, but also concerning. Creole Lady is way too big now for me to easily schlepp her in and out of the house. She's way taller than I am, and in a huge pot. Arrgh.

On September 20, we finally got word that the glass would arrive at 9 AM Sept. 21. Well, that's not quite the end of August, but it's better than November. I'll take it.

 AJ Johns hustled out with his skid steer to shuttle the glass from the semi truck to my house. Nobody showed up. First it would be an hour late, then two hours late. AJ had to go to another job. He told me to tell the driver just to drop it off at the driveway turnaround, and he'd be by to get it into my garage in the next day or two. 

Instead, the semi just came roaring right up the driveway around 11:45 am, and the driver jumped out to start unloading it. 

As it happens, I was trying to leave for a talk I had to give in Columbus that same evening, but instead I (of course) started helping the truck driver to unload the glass and metal framing. It was a JOB. Lord, it was a job. I wasn't prepared for that much exertion  in 80 degree heat before leaving for a talk (I'd already loaded my car full of heavy books and stuff). But it had to be done, and NOW. 

He was such a nice guy...how could I leave him to do this alone? We had to cut this whole skid apart, steel bands and all, because the glass was too tall to go into the garage. Good thing I have a boltcutter.

I gave him quiche and cold water, and he got to relax a bit and tell me what it's like to be a long-haul trucker. He'd been on the road for two days, bringing this load of glass from South Carolina. Now his truck was empty, and he was going to comb the Internet for loads he might take back on his way home to Titusville, Florida. As he sat on the new greenhouse pad, he said he loves this weather and wants to live in a place like this. We talked about the real estate market here, and I could see him dreaming of living in Ohio. It was nice. For me, living here is a continuing dream.

The glass all fit in one bay of the garage, thank goodness. That right there is my greenhouse, just not yet put together. A heady thought. I don't even let myself look at it, or I'll get too impatient.

 I'm told the glass installation process takes about five days. I can understand that, looking at all the parts we schlepped into the garage. 

Again, for weeks on end I had no idea when the glass might arrive, or when installation would happen,  but I've learned to expect nothing, to bide my time and wait for weeks, and to be happy with whatever happens. I just have to work on keeping the big picture in mind. I started working on this in January, for goodness sake. I can't lose my cool now, eight months later. If the weather freezes up (and it did) before the glass gets here, I'll deal with it; I'll lug the plants into the house and somehow keep them alive. I suppose I can take a bunch to the tower room. (I did...) When I heard the glass was shipping in late August, I never thought I'd still be waiting in late September for it to be installed, but hey. This whole experience has taught me a lot about perseverance and patience. Or doggedness and indefatigability. It'll be worth it!

It'll be worth it. 

A Snag, and then: Masons Arrive!

 I had plenty of time to admire the new concrete pad

and photograph it from different angles, and dream about when there'd be a real greenhouse on it. 

We'd made such great progress, something had to go wrong. I'd been talking with a mason since March, calling him periodically to make sure he was still on for the job. Well, it was getting on time to order the block and rock facing and line him up, so I called him on Thursday, August 10, wanting to discuss the specifics of the job. He was strangely detached, and as we talked I could tell he was looking for a way out. It was unimaginable to me that he'd back out now. But I truly felt my dream slipping through my hands again when he told me I'd have to be the one to order all the materials and have them on the site, waiting for him. How in the holy hell was I supposed to know what to order, how much block, and mortar, and...seriously, WHAT??

I'd learned so much in this project, but I had not learned the ins and outs of masonry as yet.

 And then he dropped the bomb. "Well, I'd just as soon not fool with it." 

"With what?" I asked. "Ordering the materials, or the job?"

"The job." 

I gaped like a fish, speechless. He hung up hurriedly, without even an apology for stringing me along for five months. Embarrassed, I guess. After a wonderful interlude with AJ Johns, my flair for finding people who promise big and don't intend to follow through came roaring back to the fore.

After I'd cussed and stomped around for awhile, blowing off steam, I got on the phone to Pioneer Masonry to ask if they could recommend a mason who could work at a moment's notice. Because I had been told the glass would ship at the end of August, and it was August 10! I had no idea how long it would take to build the foundation for the greenhouse, but if it wasn't ready when the glass was, I was in big trouble.

 Always helpful, they emailed me a list of recommended masons. I noted that the man who'd dropped out on me was not on it. On their list of general contractors, I saw the name of someone I knew--Chip Ditchendorf. I called him and described my sudden and unexpected plight. Chip didn't mess around. "Call Jeff Cline. I think he's the right guy for this job."

I called Jeff on a Thursday afternoon; he CAME OUT TO LOOK AT THE JOB THE SAME DAY (yes, I'm shouting!) and by Friday morning, the block and mortar he had ordered were on their way to me. Whoaaaa!! Jeff was as responsive and thorough as anyone could hope. I didn't have to estimate how much block I'd need; I didn't have to order the materials; he did it for me. I think that's the way it's supposed to work. I don't see how it could work the other way. 

I'm so grateful to Chip for this recommendation!

Here's the truck that delivered the block and mortar.

I was thrilled to watch the remote-controlled crane on this huge truck, and the way the driver deftly operated it with what looked like a gamer's remote. Crazy how people operate machinery with these little plastic controls.

And get this. Mason Jeff Cline and his son Christopher were on the job by Saturday!! Thursday morning, I'd thought all was lost. Saturday, I had masons on the job, and the materials there waiting for them. What a gift Pioneer Masonry and the Clines were to me and this project!!

Jeff and Christopher did NOT fool around. That's a rented electric concrete mixer dressed in red.

They're building the wall the glass will rest upon. It's going to look like a real building! 

Imagine my excitement, watching it all go up.

 

By Saturday afternoon, their mission was accomplished. Sweetest guys you could ever want to meet, and they did beautiful and precise work. Curtis and I are their biggest fans! 

I knew, looking at this beautiful wall, that I'd want rock facing not only on the outside, but on the inside, because that's what I'd be looking at most of the time. So off I went to Pioneer Masonry to choose some manufactured rock facing: Weatherledge Tan by Prestige. It's made in Amish Country, right here in Ohio. Jeff and Christopher would return to put that facing on in just a few weeks' time.

They're standing in the double doorway. I'd say that's big enough to get Creole Lady in and out of...for now. 

The Bluest Flower: Salvia patens SOLD OUT

In September of 2018, I fell back in love with a plant I had grown way back in the early 1990's, when there were a couple of great greenhouses still operating in my area and more cool plants were available. Salvia patens, or Gentian Sage, or Salvia "Blue Angel"...call it what you will; this plant has The Blue of All Blues in the largest Salvia flowers I know of. Gentian blue, delphinium blue, royal, true BLUE.

Native to Mexico, its species name, patens, means "spreading." And it does spread, sending up multiple stalks on a semi-prostrate central stem, to form a delicious mound. 

It blooms more or less continuously throughout late summer, right up to frost. 

Hazelhurst's Salvia patens plants, 09/2018

Here I was in a garden at an estate called Hazelhurst north of Wausau, Wisconsin in late September 2018, beholding this treasured plant once again. My heart beating almost out of my chest, I peeked into the leafy calyx of a spent blossom. And there beheld four seeds! Carefully, I extracted them, then two more, and folded them into a bit of paper in my pocket to carry home.

Being excited, I planted them too early that winter, and I got one plant in my greenhouse that lived through in a spindly way until the spring. I set it out and it made some seeds in the fall of 2019. I've been collecting seeds and growing Salvia patens since then. For the last three winters, I've made sure to dig up some plants to bring into the greenhouse, to overwinter on its cold, but not freezing, floor. Here's a winter rosette that came up from some roots I dug. It'll just perk along like this all winter until it warms up enough to be planted out. I'm so glad I saved a rootball over; that'll jumpstart my flowers come spring. Note that it is on the floor of the greenhouse, which keeps it from trying to grow very much. I need to keep it semi-dormant until closer to the time I can plant it out (mid-May). 

I'm hooked on that blue. Overwintered roots; seeds; I want all the insurance I can get, that I'll have this plant in my garden from here on out. AND--they are highly deer-resistant! Yep, one more reason to love them. The four maurauding deer who have invaded my gardens actually ate around them last fall! The foliage is strongly scented, being in the mint family, and both hairy and sticky, and those three things tend to deter deer from eating them.

I suspect their primary pollinator is bumblebees, though there were always hummingbirds hanging around that bed, too.

Last summer of 2022, I got serious about collecting seeds from my plants.  The plants didn't even begin to set seed until September. I suspect they tired of me poking around in their ovaries, but it was hard to wait until they were ripe! Here's a split calyx with four ripening seeds inside. They're big, like the flowers.

Ripe seeds turn black. Notice the size of that flower! Just huge.

Generally, you'll get two seeds per fertilized flower. Four if you're really lucky.

Gentian sage is the definition of precious and rare, at least to me. I so enjoyed harvesting the seeds, checking every day to see which ones had ripened.

I planted some seeds on January 13, and they started coming up about 7-10 days later. They have two large heart-shaped cotyledons. Between those two hearts springs a little plant with opposite leaves. I should have nice little plants to set out by mid-May. 

These are three-week-old plants. They're very satisfying to plant and grow from seed.

You really don't need a greenhouse. They'll sprout from seed on a sunny windowsill. When it warms up real good and they're big and strong, plant them out in sun or part shade and keep them moist until they're well-established. I'm sure they'd grow in containers as well. The mature plant should be about 2' high by 2-3' across by September, so space accordingly! It lives over the winter in zone 8-10, but should be treated as an annual (whose roots you can overwinter in the pot in a bright cool spot) anywhere else.

I love this plant so much I want to share it. BUT I AM SOLD OUT as of 7:40 pm Feb. 20 2023.  I am offering a set of six seeds for $20. Which includes shipping. This is steep, I know, but they're rare; I am not a professional producer, and these plants are durn stingy with their seeds! I'll gather more this coming fall if there seems to be demand for them. I don't know about you, but I NEED these huge lippy blue flowers in my garden. 

If you'd like to buy a packet, please go to paypal.me/JulieZickefoose  and make your payment of $20 via the PayPal link there. 

Where it says "Add a Message," please provide your mailing address!

If you don't give me your address I can't send the seeds.

If you run into problems, please email me at juliezickefooseATgmailDOTcom and provide your mailing address.   I'll send the seeds by US mail. 

I'm sorry, I won't be accepting checks by mail for this offer; I suspect they're going to go too fast.

Again, you must provide me your MAILING ADDRESS in the "Add a Message" section on Paypal.

 I can't send you the seeds without that. If you miss the "Add a Message" notice on Paypal as you make your payment, email me at juliezickefooseATgmailDOTcom with your address, and you'll get your seeds.

When they're gone,  and I suspect they will go fast, I'll immediately update the blogpost to indicate that and put a note in the comments.  SOLD OUT Evening Feb. 20. And I'll grow more this summer. :) Those wee seedlings have some work to do!

 I'll put the proceeds toward the glass lean-to greenhouse I've been dreaming about for, well, all my life. :)

The Groanhouse has had a ten-year run, and it's served me well, but it is disintegrating.

Time to think bigger and much, much better. 

 

I'm still trying to wrangle people to come together to dig footers, pour a new pad, build the foundation, and assemble the glass, which will be delivered in a kit from Botanical Greenhouse Builders LLC, out of Rocky River, Ohio. The goal is to have a real greenhouse by frost time (Halloween) 2023.  Being my own general contractor for this project been a big learning experience, and I won't lie, it's been very frustrating to try to line up so many different crafstpeople, but I am nothing if not determined.  I am still trying to get this thing pulled together and rolling, after two months of steady pressure. 

If, being optimistic, I've got twenty more years to live in this wonderful house, I want to walk out of my bedroom and into a real greenhouse, one that's insulated and sturdy and won't need to be held together with ten rolls of Gorilla Tape, applied each fall. This, I have earned.