Decorating & Design
June 2, 2022
This Dreamy Greenhouse Is Also A Chicken Coop And Party Room
About 25 years ago, B.C. designer Lisa Moody had a little garden. But like many passion projects, it got set aside while she and her husband raised their children and she grew her business. Now that those kids are 20, 18 and 15, she thought it was time to dust off her trowel and nurture this hobby again. “Gardening is so peaceful, and it’s something I can control in a crazy time,” says Lisa, who bought a house with her husband on an acre of land a decade ago in North Surrey, B.C., about an hour’s drive from Vancouver. A couple of years back, they installed raised beds behind the garage. Then, on a family trip to Sweden, Lisa noticed something. “Almost everyone there has a greenhouse and I connected to that,” she says. “My husband saw how much I loved gardening and said, ‘Let’s install a greenhouse, a chicken coop and more raised garden beds.’”
Scroll down to see more of this dreamy greenhouse!
Lisa vacillated between different white greenhouses, but she found them cottagey and, instead, opted for one with a black frame that looked more modern and Scandinavian. Longtime greenhouse manufacturer BC Greenhouse Builders was located just a few blocks away, and that’s where she found her eight- by 12-foot model — at a cost of about $10,000 — which was customized to share a wall with her chicken coop.
Lisa is a self-taught gardener, following Floret Flower Farm and YouTubing advice, and admits that she learns by trial and error. In early spring, she typically turns on the heat mats (the greenhouse is equipped with electricity and automatic irrigation) to start growing. “A greenhouse allows me to start sowing earlier and grow plants like lettuce and herbs all the way through the winter,” she says. “It’s ideal for Canada because it expands the growing season and delivers better results. As long as you invest in a good foundation for your greenhouse, it’s not outrageously expensive and, in a Canadian climate, it’s a great addition.”
She also designed a custom potting bench with a built-in soil trough and shelves that are lined with seeds, and there’s a sink on the outside of the coop that’s perfect for washing vegetables.
She recommends plumbing greenhouses to aid with watering, both inside and out.
Paver flooring was installed inside the greenhouse, with pea gravel laid outside around the beds. The roof windows open automatically in hot weather: liquid warms in the mechanism that releases the spring to open the windows and then, when it cools down, the windows shut.
The custom-designed potting bench has a sunken galvanized trough (below trowel) filled with potting soil.
A custom leather apron personalized with Lisa’s company name is a gardening essential.
“Growing your own food feels like you’re contributing something positive to your family and the environment,” says Lisa.
Orange zucchini blossoms poke out in the raised beds.
In the greenhouse, tomatoes thrive in the sun and are protected from the rain.
Lisa chose eight heritage chickens for their pretty multicolored eggs. “The eggs taste the same — but they make my heart happy.”
The chickens enjoy perching on the split door.
This year, the greenhouse served another function. Lisa moved the garden boxes out in favor of a table and chairs, hung string lights and hosted lunch for her girlfriends. “The next day, my kids all came home and we had a nice dinner in the greenhouse, surrounded by snow,” she says. “It was so special; you felt like you were in a fairy tale.”
Lisa says the greenhouse has made her think about the future, one that might include grandchildren pulling up radishes one day. “I want to be able to grow stuff with my grandkids; I so enjoyed that time when my children were young. This greenhouse is a building for my future and my family.”
Janis Nicolay
House & Home May 2022
Lisa Moody