Seeing as our summer was so cold, I figured it would be prudent to get kitted out for the impending winter. I decided that in order to enable survival for my plants over the winter month they would need some kind of protection from the frost and cold.

There is an apartment around the corner with a small plastic plant covering type thing which got me thinking. After a few searches on eBay, I decided I needed to own a multi-tier mini greenhouse. And a few days later I did – for the reasonable price (I think – no frame of reference here!) of about fifty quid (Euro).

While watching Ireland triumph over Cyprus last night I decided to go ahead and set it up. There were no instructions but, through a process of going by the picture on the box and winging it, it all fell into place in the end.

As regards the plants, I decided what was to go in based on one part instinct, one part book learnin’ and one part observation of which were doing badly in the cold so far. Those that made the cut were: salad leaves, parsley, basil and some small chili plants I didn’t transplant. The woodier plants like rosemary, bay and thyme should be OK out in the elements. That’s the plan anyway.

I’ve included a few photos of the greenhouse construction below (admittedly I may be making it sound marginally more arduous than it was!). By the time next spring rolls (yum) around I hope to have a some loftier plans for the greenhouse.