Country diary: a creaky greenhouse makes a snug shelter from the downpour

Crook, County Durham: There's a pleasant aroma of damp earth, and some wildflower seedlings are sproutingDuring a break in the rain, I dashed down to the greenhouse at the bottom of the garden. I was seduced into lingering too long. A torrential downpour is hammering on the roof. It's 70 paces back to the house, far enough away to be soaked to the skin: I'm trapped for a while.This creaky, leaky 8ft-by-6ft house of glass and aluminium is 40 years old. In autumn last year, an overhanging branch crashed through the roof during a storm. The decision to repair or demolish was made on a coin toss: heads; the frame was bent back into shape and reglazed, in time to plant pots of bulbs whose flowers brightened this spring over the Covid-19 lockdown. Continue reading...