10 Easy Pieces: Cold Frame Greenhouses

Lately we’ve been admiring cold frame greenhouses, with multiple shelves and transparent roofs and walls to let in sunlight to warm seedlings in cold weather.

Reminiscent of Victorian display cases for special specimen plants, upright cold frame greenhouses have more space for plants than a single-tier cold frame (which is typically built low to the ground to take advantage of the warmth of the earth).

We’ve rounded up 10 favorite cold frame greenhouses that won’t require much square footage in a garden—but will keep a multitude of plants happy in winter:

Above: An The Upright Coldframe with two cedar shelves is 55 inches high and has a hinged lid for ventilation; £770 from Gabriel Ash.

“The wall at the back of a lean-to greenhouse acts as a heat sink—regulating the greenhouse temperature during the day (reducing over heating) and storing the warmth of the day and releasing it during the night helping to keep you plants nice and snug,” notes retailer The Greenhouse People.

N.B.: Are you starting plants from seed this spring? For tips, see our Garden Design 101 guides, especially Edibles 101: A Field Guide to Growing, Care & Design. For more, see:

• 10 Easy Pieces: Cold Frames.
• The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden.
• Cilantro 101: A Field Guide to Planting, Care & Design.
• Hardscaping 101: Cold Frames.
• Gardening 101: How to Draw a Garden Plan.
• Steal This Look: Michelle Obama’s White House Garden.
• Lettuce 101: Everything You Need to Know.