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Then, during your first summer, you can work up a more ambitious schedule for your second season with the purpose of having color in your greenhouse throughout the year. Here are suggestions for twelve months of color in a cool greenhouse (45 to 50 F night temperature):
| January | stocks (Mathiola incana) | sow seed late July to early August |
| February | snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) | sow seed in October |
| March | poor-man's-orchid (Schizanthus) | sow seed in August |
| April | tulips, daffodils, hyacinths | pot bulbs in October |
| May | sweet-peas (Lathyrus odoratus) | sow seed in November |
| June | pot-marigold (Calendula officinalis) | sow seed in November |
| July | gloxinias (Sinningia speciosa) | pot tubers in February; place in warmest part of greenhouse |
| August | geraniums (Pelargonium) | take cuttings early June |
| September | Tulbaghia cepacea | pot rhizomes in August |
| October | chrysanthemums | take cuttings of late types in May |
| November | bouvardia | buy plants in May to mature in greenhouse |
| December | cineraria (Senecio cruentus) | sow seed in May |
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You Can Improvise
The major expense of greenhouse construction comes the first year, so you may want to postpone other purchases to hold your operating costs to a minimum. Improvise wherever and whenever you can. Suggestions to help you do this are given at the end of Chapter 4. Keep in mind that you can rig bench frames for your snapdragons, and dig topsoil from your garden and pasteurize it in your oven to save the expense of buying soil. You can settle for a dirt floor the first year it is not so attractive as brick, slate, or wood slats and it might be slippery and muddy occasionally, but it is practical and economical.
Sharp kitchen knives and large mixing spoons are substitutes for strong greenhouse scissors and trowels; with careful regulation of water flow, plants can be watered successfully with a garden hose; and you will be surprised how many flower pots from discarded gift plants your friends will be delighted to unload on you. Scrubbed with a Lysol solution and a wire brush, they will be as good as new. Then there are the possibilities of milk cartons quart and half-gallon containers, well scoured and with one side removed, make excellent waterproof seed flats. So use your imagination and your ingenuity it's half the fun of your first year of gardening under glass.
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