Greenhouse 'first step to cultivation'

16:10 7th April 2008

The construction of a greenhouse was among the first steps taken by Rachel de Thame when attempting to bring her garden under control, it has been revealed.

Ms de Thame, correspondent with the Sunday Times, has begun to cultivate her seven acres of land some six years after moving in.

She explains that, prior to that, she and her husband Gerard were occupied with decorating the interior of their 19th-century Cotswold farmhouse.

After a number of difficult pregnancies led her to "take it easy", Ms de Thame adds that the garden "fell into a state of disrepair".

But a greenhouse, herb garden and cold frames have proved the first steps towards a more manageable plot.

"Next is cajoling my eldest daughter's boyfriend and my son to help us get the raised beds built in time to transplant my seedlings before they outgrow the cold frames," she writes in the publication.

Ms de Thame wrote in November 2007 of the "countless happy hours" she anticipated spending inside her new greenhouse, which was under construction at the time.