The Mad Orchidist: Greenhouse and Stonehouse

Here is a favorite orchid from my collection, Cattleya Stonehouse, enjoying the honor of being first in the new greenhouse:

Cattleya Stonehouse (formerly Laeleocattleya)
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

It doesn't actually need to be in there, but it is blooming beautifully right now and I couldn't resist the cheesy word-play. "The Stonehouse" (as I like to call it) is famed for its resilience and willingness to bloom. I have heard tales from other growers of specimens in Santa Barbara happily blooming with frost on the flowers during an unusually cold winter several years ago. See a beautiful close-up of the flowers at the end of this post.

Anyway, it took me a while to get the panels onto the greenhouse frame, since I was searching for the perfect way to secure them against the wind.

Greenhouse Construction
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

I settled on self-drilling sheet metal screws with neoprene washers; they go right through the panel and into the aluminum braces underneath:

Before attaching them, I taped the edges of the panels with foil HVAC tape. Not only does it seal the insulating airspaces inside the panels, but it keeps insects and debris from getting inside.

Foil tape on polycarbonate greenhouse panel
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

I laughed at the idea of needing to keep insects out, but after one night outside, there was an earwig inside of an untaped panel! That was all the convincing I needed.