Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Michael on February 17, 2010, 03:25:41 PM
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Hello all :)
I've been absent for a while, but now that things are less hectic, there is more than enough time to take a short break and show you the project that had kept me busy for the last couple of months, a greenhouse. This is the third one, and by far the biggest I've ever built. I had to tear down 2 stone walls and secure a cave with a huge pillar before actually start the foundations and the metallic structure of the greenhouse itself, which is standing just in front of these walls.
I'm by no means a bricklayer, but this time i had to do the welding, sawing and concrete stuff all by myself, as my father has been busy with a few architecture projects of his own so he could not assist me.
Time is running out quickly... as I need to have this greenhouse ready and the plants inside it before I leave my homeland for a few years...
Here are a few pictures...
This is one of the walls that were in risk, so i had to dig the soil out from behind it, then tear it down, and rebuild it, this time with concrete. Those stones are a lot heavier than I though :D
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1438.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1444.jpg)
Now the concrete pillar for the cave system:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1453.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1455-2.jpg)
The metal bar that will support the back of the greenhouse cover:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1448-1.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1459-1.jpg)
The front of it a few days ago...
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1467.jpg)
and now:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1539.jpg)
And this is a man made cave which is more than 100 years old and dug up with pickaxe. They will be part of the greenhouse, and supply a perfect spot for shade dwellers
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1460.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1545.jpg)
The entrances:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1449-1.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1451-2.jpg)
All these roughness's will be covered with epiphytes very soon :)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1469-1.jpg)
And a few more pictures of the place:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1541.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1463.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_1547.jpg)
And that is all for now! I barely cannot wait to see this thing ready!
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Wow, Mike - a lot of work done, but still a lot of work to do. Please keep us in touch.
Why do you leave Madeira and where do you go??
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Hi Mike,
glad to see you're still alive. I'm curious: which plants are you going to grow in the cave?
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Good Heavens Michael, what a project this is. I hope it proceeds well for you.
With Thomas, I ask why leave Madeira, where will you go and who will look after your new greenhouse and its plants when you are away?
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Wim, im going to plant folliage plants like Marantas and alike, Dieffenbachia, Aspidistra, Begonia, etc. It has a south exposition, so gets plenty of bright light in the afternoon. Even the darkest places are bright enough for things like Aspidistra :D
Lesley and Thomas, next month I'm heading to an interview at Kew, and then I'm hopefully going to study horticulture there for, at least, 3 years. My mother and another friend will be held responsible for my plants, and I am pretty sure they can handle them well.
I'm installing automatic watering systems and a watering regime schedule for each group of plants, plus a pest and disease identification chart.
And I'll be monitoring my collection at distance, via cam pictures, so I'm confident that i will have few, if any, losses :)
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Wow Michael that is an amazing project - well done you for putting so much work into it. And very good luck with the interview, working at Kew would be fantastic!
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Michael, wishing you all the very best for your interview.
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Yes indeed, we will all be rooting for you at the Kew interview. If you are successful, and go to live in the UK for a while, you'll be able to visit many Forum members, see the shows and generally take a larger part in gardening activities than perhaps you can in Madeira. Best of luck with it all. :D
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Michael,
best of luck with the interview! Just show them pics of what you've built in the last couple of months - that'll impress'em! ;D
If you are in the UK next year we'll arrange to meet up when we come over for the Alpines 2011 Conference!
cheers
fermi
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I hope you can make it for Kew Michael !!
If you're admitted, you can expect to see a lot of familiar "Forum" faces there ... ! :D
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Good luck for Kew, Mike!!!
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wow--what a project! congratulations, good luck (project and kew), and looking forward to seeing the finished work!
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Hi all and thanks a lot for the support!
I think the worst part is the selection process to get the interview... Like somebody told me today, Kew is THE place... and hordes of people worldwide apply to enter. I feel somehow lucky on getting an interview at first attempt, as i was rather thinking the opposite!
I'm also very excited and looking forward to meet you all either on the Alpines conference, at Kew, or even on your own country, who knows?
More updates of the greenhouse will follow soon!
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I hope that you and yours are okay Michael, and that the torrential rain hasn't damaged your great plant collection.
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I was just posting something similar in the weather thread...... we've been a out all day and come back to this news about the mudlsides and deaths in Madeira.... saw some frightening footage on the news. Hope Michael and his family and friends are safe.
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Michael all the best for the interview. What a place to work!. I had never ever thought that someone would have their own personal cave with which to garden. I hope that none of your family or friends are involved in the mudslides.
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I saw the mudslides on the news, but didn't hear where they were. Michael, I hope all is OK with you and yours!?
All the best.
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Hi!
First of all, I would like to announce that, fortunately the storm was barely noticeable in my zone. I live very near the centre of the city, somewhere midways between it and the suburbs, in a hill (like you saw on the pictures i posted earlier on). On the very bottom of the hill, there is a stream as well, but it never gave any problems to it's surroundings.
My plants are all fine, only the excess of rain might have a bad impact, but since the temperatures are not that cold (19ºC) I think they won't mind having wet feet for a while.
Last Thursday we had dull weather with rain all day (something that the northern people usually call a "Scottish mist") Then Friday was a bright day without a single cloud in the sky. I went down to keep building the greenhouse and i could feel that slight "burning" sensation from the sunrays in my skin, the first time I felt it this year, which means the spring is really about to begin.
Then suddenly, yesterday it was a total nightmare... My sister went out at night and arrived home 8AM in the morning. She said me she came by bus and when she left Funchal the city was untouched, in spite of the rain we had since the 2AM. One hour later, the place she left was like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr8LoCf3Jbo
That is supposed to be a Tunnel, and the Disco that she went is just about 20 yards from the tunnel's entrance. The amount of water running towards the sea harbour is unbelievable!
I had other 2 friends that were lucky as well, one is my neighbour next door who went to have his swimming training in the morning, and luckily he managed to go out of the chaos that could be felt in the centre of the city by noon time. It's partially underwater, I barely could even recognize a few parts of it while they shown them on the TV. The streams overflew and dragged away cars, people, trees, boulders, dirt and lots of debris. A few concrete embankments and walls just succumbed to the water pressure. Later on I heard that a crane felt off and killed 2 people that were witnessing the catastrophe. Many people have this morbid compulsion to transgress the safety measures imposed by the Civil Protection Headquarters, and I believe that a few deaths could be avoided if everybody undertook the orders and stood at home.
A few bridges felt of including the one just in front of Mercado dos Lavradores.
(http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/14741/fonte_monumental.jpg)
The Infante Roundabout pictured above with it's famous water fountains and armillary sphere is also at risk, as it's foundations were badly damaged by the water channel that passes underground, just bellow it. I have not been there yet, but i heard that the water pressure was so high that the road asphalt cracked and a part of it rose up. It's very saddening to hear that this estimated ancient landmark is at risk of collapsing.
Here you can watch a terrifying video where the water channel that passes just next to the university campus is shown. The amount of water running down from the hills is just overwhelming! That ditch has 25 yards of dept!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8526288.stm
I also believe that many of the Bougainvillea that were ornamenting all water channels on the city
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2316/2223221025_c05b15c7d2.jpg?v=0)
are no more, and that they were responsible for clogging up the undergrounds and making the water overrun the channels to the roads. But I'm not worried cause they sprout rampantly from their old rootstock ;)
We had a similar event that happened on October 1993, and the city was repaired in a blink of an eye, so hopefully this time it will take even less time.
Lastly I would thank for the support PM's and emails many of you sent me, even yesterday the phone did not stop ringing as my family in Australia, South Africa and Venezuela were worried about us as well.
Now today its sunny again, and no clouds in the sky, a delusive day to what happened yesterday. But i shall continue with my project ;)
Regards!
Michael
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So glad to see that you are "alive and kicking" after that awful rain. And the best of luck for Kew!!
um grande abraço
Chloë
(accepted an offer for my flat in Kew this week ... which means I can start hoping to have a real Portuguese garden in the near-ish future ...)
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Glad to hear you are OK Michael.
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Michael - Good to hear you are safe and sound. What an tragedy.
A friend in Denmark is so fed up with the winter that he & his wife booked a trip to Madeira for March 1. They haven't been able to landscappe or even see their plants for weeks.
I hope life for you will be back to normal in short order.
johnw
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Glad to hear you are OK Michael.
Hows is the Musa Siam Ruby doing? Any chance of a photo?
See you in a few weeks.
John
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Michael,
We have been thinking of you over the last days and hoping all was well with you so delighted that you have posted and that all is well with you and your family.
All the best, Paddy
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Thanks for letting us know you're OK, Michael. I hope it is all repaired "in the blink of an eye" again this time.
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Good news all is ok with you Michael !! :D :D
Thanks for letting us know !
Hope things turn for the better real soon !