40 Greenhouse Ideas for Backyard Gardening

Ever since the first greenhouse was built in ancient Italy, the “gardini botanici” has been a favorite way to extend the growing season. Explorers used these structures to house exotic plants brought back from tropical journeys, and they remain a great place to start seedlings and shelter tender plants. 

America’s first greenhouse was built in 1737. Today, there are countless greenhouse ideas that make growing plants an easier task year-round. Here are 31 of the best.

1. Attached 

An attached greenhouse is connected to your home on one wall. This type of greenhouse is easier to access in inclement weather and makes it convenient to enjoy garden therapy in all four seasons.

An attached mini greenhouse is a great indoor gardening option when space is limited. Built outside an existing window or door frame, this convenient structure will allow you to grow herbs, flowers, or produce year-round.

2. Cottage Style

Visions of an English garden almost always include a cottage style greenhouse. Even a small version adds a charming focal point to the garden. With the UK’s wet and chilly weather, greenhouses are necessary to ensure a long growing season.

Be sure to decorate this type of greenhouse in shabby chic style. Hang a crystal chandelier instead of an ordinary light fixture, and use beautifully weathered furniture inside. If you prefer ordering a greenhouse kit, the Hartley Botanic Greenhouse Company is a good place to look for award-winning British greenhouse supplies.

3. Dome

A dome shaped greenhouse is a modern, futuristic style for DIY greenhouse plans. A dome framework is typically made from connecting PVC pipes or flexible rods. The tent is made from clear plastic sheeting.

Some geodome greenhouse kits come with a tarp cover to protect potted plants from excessive heat and sunlight. Larger dome indoor greenhouse kits have sturdy plastic half walls and full size doors for easy access to your greenhouse plants. Northern Homestead is a good blog to follow for information about geodome greenhouses and urban homesteading in cold climates.

4. Garden Room

Create a garden room by building a combination greenhouse and sunroom. This will become a favored backyard retreat when it’s too cold to relax outdoors.

With its clear panels and often decorative frames, this type of space is ideal for growing plants. It’s also an amazing idea for creating a humid, tropical-climate place to read, dine, or entertain.

5. Glass

A glass greenhouse is the style that comes to mind when most of us think of a backyard indoor growing space. It consists of a greenhouse frame with clear glass or plastic panels.

Sometimes the material between the frames is a plastic sheet instead of a heavier material. Newer, more modern glass structures lack a visible framework, its glass panels held together by unobtrusive metal brackets. This gives this greenhouse an almost invisible aura from afar.

You can protect your delicate plants from receiving too much sun in a glass garden greenhouse. Simply install sheer or canvas curtains that can be closed for light control.

6. Greenhouse Design

The primary purpose of a greenhouse structure is to provide the consistent level of warmth and humidity that growing plants need. As greenhouse ideas have evolved, new, innovative options have expanded everyone’s definition of gardening.

If at all possible, make sure that your greenhouse plan includes a power and water supply. These will make greenhouse gardening easier year round. Increase your greenhouse height if you want room to grow taller, bigger plant types.

7. Low Cost Greenhouse

Do you have an old plastic bottle lying around? If so, you have the makings of a practically free mini greenhouse. Repurposed and recycled materials are excellent things to include in an eco-friendly, affordable greenhouse idea.

Mother Earth News and other sustainable gardening publications are great places to learn more about affordable, green gardening practices.

8. Metal

Metal is perhaps the best idea for creating a sturdy greenhouse space. Whether you use lightweight aluminum or powder-coated steel, a metal greenhouse will prove to be a durable garden idea.

An attractive way to use metal in a greenhouse space is to make a frame over an existing brick or stone half wall. Embellish the gables with metal finials or other decorative accents.

9. Modern

Just like homes can have modern or traditional designs, greenhouses can follow the same path. A modern greenhouse will have clean angles and few embellishments. A modern greenhouse space may not have a traditional house-like structure. It could be circular, rectangular, or even triangular in shape.

These simple structures are beautiful places to show off flowering plants in modern containers. They’re also a great way to add green space to a modern condo patio or backyard.

10. Potting Shed

A potting shed is a small space or building where plants are grown in pots until they’re big enough to be planted outside. This small structure is also used to store gardening tools, and often has a potting bench or other indoor gardening work surface.

A potting shed may have windows on one side or be covered in full glass panels like a greenhouse. It can be a great small space for protecting growing plants from harsh cold, rain, and other inclement weather.

11. Rustic

Wood beams, exposed brick, touches of stone and metal—all of these are materials to include in a rustic greenhouse space. This no-frills aesthetic showcases the beauty of natural materials and subdued earth tones.

If you want to embellish a rustic greenhouse, remember to keep it simple and natural. A door garden around the entrance is a good idea. Make one by planting climbing vines around the doorframe.

12. Shelving

Stacked rows of greenhouse shelving expand your ability to sow seeds indoors. Usually made of metal or plastic, these shelving units are designed to maximize the number of plants you can fit inside your greenhouse.

You can also build your own wooden greenhouse shelving. Use wooden slats for your shelves instead of solid boards, so that water can drain through instead of puddling on the surface.

13. Small

A small mini greenhouse can be moved around the yard or patio as needed. Usually sold as a kit, they’re easy to put together and often include hidden storage in the base.

A cool option for a small greenhouse is a pop-up tent greenhouse. There is no easier DIY greenhouse project and it’s one of the most affordable versions, too.

14. Tiny

Tiny DIY greenhouse ideas are great for introducing kids to gardening. They’re also cute and convenient ways to grow a small number of herbs or green plants to display indoors. Make a plastic bottle greenhouse for a truly tiny look at what it takes to create a greenhouse environment.

Build a box out an old window collection to make a mini indoor greenhouse for you or your kids. This kind of DIY project is especially good for homeschooling kids to learn more about botany and sustainability.

15. Vinyl or Plastic

A basic hoop house greenhouse is a simple way of building a functional indoor space for growing greenhouse plants. Its frame is a long row of hoops set into the ground and the entire structure is covered in clear plastic sheeting.

A hoop house may be tall enough to walk through, or you may wish to build a shorter structure over raised boxes. Simply pull back the plastic sheet when it’s time to water or weed, and reclose the space when you’re finished.

16. Wood Frame

A wood frame with clear or polycarbonate panels makes a gorgeous greenhouse in a garden setting. The wood exterior blends into the landscape better than a metal structure.

Another type of greenhouse starts with a wood frame—rather, a wooden box. A cold frame greenhouse uses insulation and solar power to create a cozy microclimate for plants. The wood box base is topped with a protective glass or plastic lid. Because it’s relatively small, use it to start seeds or house delicate greenhouse plants.