I keep my greenhouse frost free, but only just (1 or 2 degrees). I have lots of colourful pelargoniums- there are many different types, colours, habits and leaf forms. They survive the winter and seem to enjoy the heat in summer. I have shading, but rarely use it in the summer, as it stops my chillies and tomatoes doing well. I do use the shading lots in the spring, when, like @Buttercupdays, mine is chock full of seedlings and pricked out/ potted on plants that would shrivel without some shade.
It makes me laugh when I see Greenhouses artfully staged at flower shows, with armchairs, chintz cushions, bookshelves and the best china 🤣. Selling the dream 😴
How about a ginger lily? They look quite exotic when in leaf and the flowers not only look intriguing but smell wonderful. I grow mine outdoors in Cornwall but I know they do well under glass. A dwarf banana plant could give foliage. Strelizia is another exotic which might your requirements. It sounds as if you would like the equivalent of a conservatory in miniature. It really depends on your personal taste in plants and the extent of your interest in caring for plants, plus watering and feeding. I have a small 6x4ft unheated greenhouse which I use to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in the summer and overwinter my tenders during the winter. I have a folding chair in there, mainly for the cat! She loves to sleep in there, outdoors but indoors protection. I quite often sit in there with a coffee or cuppa and chill.
Grow some peanuts! It's fascinating, especially if there are kiddies around, plus you can eat them within months, and their leaves are good for composting seeing as they are really legumes.
Thanks for the advice, strelizia and banana plants sound good, and will check out the peanuts. i just saw some pomegranate trees in Greece, they also look interesting. I really don’t want to fill the green house with seedlings and annuals etc, as An organic wildlife gardener I try to keep the garden low maintenance (ha!!) and The green house is an opportunity To explore non native exotics. The challenge is to keep them alive through the whole year without heating the greenhouse hmm 🧐
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It makes me laugh when I see Greenhouses artfully staged at flower shows, with armchairs, chintz cushions, bookshelves and the best china 🤣. Selling the dream 😴
I have a small 6x4ft unheated greenhouse which I use to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in the summer and overwinter my tenders during the winter. I have a folding chair in there, mainly for the cat! She loves to sleep in there, outdoors but indoors protection. I quite often sit in there with a coffee or cuppa and chill.
https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/expert-advice/gardeners-tips/how-to-grow-peanuts/
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
i just saw some pomegranate trees in Greece, they also look interesting.
I really don’t want to fill the green house with seedlings and annuals etc, as An organic wildlife gardener I try to keep the garden low maintenance (ha!!) and The green house is an opportunity To explore non native exotics. The challenge is to keep them alive through the whole year without heating the greenhouse hmm 🧐