Collection: Shed

Why a Shed Beside the Greenhouse

A garden shed stores tools, machinery and bulk compost away from the growing space. That matters more than it sounds: a greenhouse used for storage loses the floor and staging that made it worth building, and bags of compost under the bench harbour slugs through winter.

Separating the two jobs is what keeps both working. Plants in the greenhouse, everything else in the shed.

Materials

• Pressure treated timber suits a traditional garden, takes shelving and hooks anywhere, and can be modified or extended later. It needs periodic treatment.
• Powder coated steel will not rot and needs no maintenance, though fixing shelving to it takes more planning.
• Moulded plastic is the lightest to assemble and the simplest to keep clean, with nothing to treat or repaint.

Timber remains the most adaptable if you expect the shed to become a workshop rather than only storage. Steel and plastic are the lower maintenance options. Keeping bulk compost here rather than under the greenhouse staging also keeps slugs out of the growing space.

Specifications That Get Regretted

Door width is the one most often wrong. A mower, barrow or bicycle that will not pass through the opening makes the whole building useless for the thing you bought it for. Measure the widest item you intend to store before choosing.

Roof type matters for headroom and drainage. An apex roof gives standing height at the centre; a pent roof suits a position against a wall or fence and sheds water to one side. Check where that water goes before siting.

The Base

A shed needs a level, drained base that will not move as the ground settles. Slabs, a concrete pad or a purpose made base frame all work. Bare soil does not, since the floor will rot and the structure will rack.

Anchoring follows the same principles as a greenhouse. Our ground fixings cover most shed applications, and fitting during assembly is easier than afterwards.

Siting

Think about shade before you place it. A shed south of the greenhouse will take light from it for half the year, which only becomes obvious in the second winter.

A path wide enough for a barrow between shed, greenhouse and beds saves more time over a season than most equipment does. The wider garden buildings and shelters range covers canopies and storage alongside sheds.