Greenhouse as an outdoor room and autumn theme

Autumn is right around the corner and we are heading towards colder and darker days. The west wind here in Tversted, in the northern Denmark, has really started rustling through the plants and the days where you could enjoy a meal outside are now numbered.

In the house we are also preparing for autumn. Nanna is preserving and drying all sorts of greens. I have begun to cut down the plants outside, but I am still enjoying the colourful sight of our dahlias.

Autumn is truly a beautiful season, but it also brings some sadness for a gardener like me. Another garden season is coming to an end.

In the greenhouse autumn is not as visible yet. Maybe it is during autumn that it is the best time to be an owner of a greenhouse? It is the feeling of being outside, but without the rustling of the wind or the splashing from the rain. In the greenhouse it is nice and dry, and you can light a candle to make it cosy.

For Nanna and me it is especially about the Danish ‘hygge’.

During summer we have enjoyed our time in the greenhouse, but the last couple of weeks the greenhouse has come to its rightful state – we met for coffee at noon while the rain was pouring down. We had candlelight dinners with blankets wrapped around us while it turned dark outside. Especially Nanna has enjoyed mornings with a steaming hot coffee in the greenhouse.

The greenhouse is still full of flourishing plants. Including angel’s trumpets and a lot of dahlias. Therefore, we can still enjoy the sight of our gorgeous flowers and enjoy the almost euphoric scent from the angel’s trumpet. If one could store this scent and bring it out for a gloomy day in January, then I would!

Regarding practical tasks I am very aware of ventilating in the greenhouse at the moment, since it is noticeable that the humidity has risen. A high humidity makes the plants more vulnerable to fungal diseases and it increases the chances of decay since they stay damp.

Another of my almost daily tasks are to nip all the withered flowers since the plants are trying to set seeds. By removing the withering flowers, you stimulate the plant to continue producing flowers in which the blossoming are prolonged.

If you are more interested in the edible plants the greenhouse also makes it possible to sow these. Nanna and I call it “fast veggies”. This involves radishes, spring onions and different sorts of lettuce. These plants you may still have time to cultivate this year.

Soon we will cut down the tomato plants and the pepper plants and throw them in the compost. The chilli plants we will take inside before the frost comes and place them under high-wattage light bulbs. The chillis last a few years and will therefore bloom next year again.

It has been an amazing summer, although we are ready for autumn. So October - Bring it on! We sure are ready for more days with hot chocolate, candles, board games and cosiness in the greenhouse, as well as listening to the sound of rain and wind.