We have not been able to have a garden in the five years we have been in Montana because the deer will eat everything. We could put up a very tall fence, but another problem would remain: Our short growing season, according to one source only 80 days from June 19 to Sept. 7. (Average frost dates are June 9 and Sept. 12, so that would be 95 days. Whatever it is, it is short.) A greenhouse would help extend the season on both ends.

Without getting too deep into the weeds on our HOA, eventually it was decided that our greenhouse would go on a different property, Spruce Lodge, a short-term rental property owned by my brother. And without getting too deep into the weeds on getting our landscaper to prepare the gravel pad for the pre-built structure, we were finally able to get it finished and pin down a delivery date of July 29, a month later than we hoped.

The greenhouse was built by Frontier Rustic Design of Norris, MT (west of Bozeman). It's a beautiful, rustic building, not just panels mounted on a metal frame. Jesse Esh delivered it by himself using a hydraulic flatbed. (Actually he was not by himself, he brought his toddler to ride his bike about after everything was done.) I have started a separate blog on the greenhouse, so rather than duplicate the images and videos from installation day and the months afterward, visit the Montana Greenhouse blog site.