BY MALLORY ABREU PHOTOS ROB CARDILLO STYLING RACHEL SMITH
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64 | May 2019
i did it! To make a space for the whole family
to garden, these DIY enthusiasts built a salvaged-parts greenhouse
complete with a potting bench, seedling shelves, and lots of natural light.
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Jennifer and Chris
Oswald have always
loved gardening
but got the idea to
build a greenhouse
when their daughter,
Aleira, and son, Leo,
started growing
their own seedlings.
Now they can nurture
plants on special
seed-starting shelves
made by drilling
2-inch-diameter
holes into two 1×4s.
ennifer and Chris Oswald’s one-of-a-kind
greenhouse shares some history with the old homes
in their Carlisle, PA, neighborhood. Its walls and roof
are made up of 22 windows, many of which they
bought dirt cheap from someone updating a nearby
farmhouse, and the door, purchased at an antiques
shop, was salvaged from a local home. The Oswalds built the
frame from plywood and 2×4s, letting the windows determine
the 6×10-foot size. By screwing the windows to the outside
of the framework, they hid the boards so the greenhouse looks
like it’s built entirely from windows. The project, which cost
about $500 and took 20 hours to complete, gives the family a
place to get ahead on starting veggies in early spring and to
experiment with plants that need a little extra warmth to thrive.
J
