19 Small Greenhouse Ideas

ByEmma Martin

Want fresh veggies or flowers year-round? These 19 Small Greenhouse Ideas show you ways to start gardening, even with little space. Find simple, smart ways to protect your plants and help them grow strong. Check out these easy options for your garden!

Mini Hoop House

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring several curved PVC pipes forming hoops over a raised garden bed, covered securely with clear plastic sheeting, protecting leafy greens.

Try a mini hoop house for your raised beds.

You bend pipes or wires into hoops.

Then, you cover them with plastic or fabric.

This simple setup extends your growing season.

It keeps pests away and shields plants from harsh weather fairly well.

Window Box Greenhouse

A close-up photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a window box attached below a window, filled with herbs, and covered by a custom-made clear plastic mini-greenhouse structure.

Got a sunny window?

Add a clear cover over your window box.

This mini-greenhouse makes a warm spot for herbs or small flowers.

You give them extra protection right outside your window.

It makes adding fresh herbs to meals very easy.

Balcony Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a small apartment balcony with a tall, narrow shelving unit enclosed in clear plastic, containing potted plants.

If you have a balcony, you have space for plants!

A small, upright shelf greenhouse fits perfectly.

These often have zip-up plastic covers.

They let you grow vertically.

You get multiple levels for pots in a tiny footprint.

Great for city living.

Lean To Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a greenhouse with a single sloping roof attached to the sunny side wall of a brick house, filled with various plants.

Use the side of your house or shed.

A lean-to greenhouse attaches to an existing wall.

This style traps heat from the building.

It saves space and materials.

You get easy access from your home and a warm spot for sensitive plants.

A Frame Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden displaying a small, triangular A-frame structure made of wood and clear panels, sitting on grass with potted plants visible inside.

An A-frame shape is strong and simple.

You can build one with wood and plastic panels.

Its steep roof lets snow slide off easily.

It provides good height in the center for taller plants.

It looks charming in any garden setting, big or small.

Small Geodesic Dome

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a small geodesic dome greenhouse made of triangular plastic panels connected by hubs, placed on a grassy area.

Build a cool-looking geodesic dome.

These structures are strong and wind-resistant.

You use triangle shapes to form a sphere.

They spread sunlight evenly inside.

Even a small dome gives you decent growing space and looks very modern in your yard.

Raised Bed Cover

A close-up photo of a typical American home’s garden focusing on a wooden raised garden bed with hinged, clear plastic covers arching over the top, protecting vegetable plants inside.

Add a cover directly to your raised bed.

You can make hinged lids with clear plastic or glass.

This keeps the soil warm and protects plants from pests.

Lift the lids easily for watering or harvesting.

It is a simple upgrade for better growth.

Cloche Covers

A close-up photo of a typical American home’s garden showing several individual bell-shaped glass cloches placed over small plants in a garden bed on a sunny morning.

Use cloches to protect single plants.

These bell-shaped covers act like tiny greenhouses.

You can find them made of glass or plastic.

Just place one over a young or tender plant.

It traps heat and moisture, helping the plant get established faster.

Indoor Grow Tent

A photo of a small grow tent with reflective interior walls, set up inside a room near a window, containing plants under a purple LED grow light.

Need a fully controlled space?

An indoor grow tent works like a mini-greenhouse inside your home.

You add grow lights and fans.

They reflect light well.

You manage temperature and humidity perfectly.

Grow exotic plants or start seeds anytime you wish.

Portable Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden displaying a small, lightweight greenhouse with a metal frame and clear plastic cover, easily movable, sitting on a patio near pots.

Want flexibility?

Get a portable greenhouse.

These are often lightweight with simple frames.

You can move them easily around your yard.

Put them where plants need sun or protection.

They store away compactly during the off-season, saving you valuable garden space.

Shelf Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a metal or plastic shelving unit on a porch, enclosed entirely with a zip-up clear plastic cover, holding small potted plants.

Use vertical space with a shelf greenhouse.

These units have multiple tiers.

A clear plastic cover encloses the shelves.

Great for starting seeds or housing small potted plants.

They fit nicely on patios, decks, or even balconies where ground space is tight.

Recycled Bottle Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a small DIY greenhouse structure with walls made entirely of clear plastic soda bottles stacked horizontally on wooden supports.

Go green with your greenhouse!

You can build walls using empty plastic bottles.

Stack them on rods or wire.

The trapped air insulates well.

It is a creative and low-cost way to make a functional growing space while recycling plastic waste effectively.

Old Window Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a charming, rustic small greenhouse constructed mainly from mismatched salvaged window frames, filled with flowering plants.

Repurpose old windows into a beautiful greenhouse.

You can build a frame and use the windows as walls and roofing.

This gives your garden a rustic, charming look.

It is a fantastic way to recycle materials and create a unique, sturdy growing structure.

Umbrella Greenhouse

A close-up photo of a typical American home’s garden showing clear plastic sheeting draped over an open patio umbrella frame, staked down to cover plants growing beneath it.

Need quick, temporary protection?

Drape clear plastic over an old umbrella frame.

Secure the edges to the ground.

This creates an instant mini-greenhouse.

Shield plants from unexpected cold snaps or heavy rain.

Remove it easily when the weather improves again.

Pallet Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden featuring a small, sturdy greenhouse with a frame constructed primarily from wooden shipping pallets, covered with clear plastic film.

Use wooden pallets for a cheap frame.

You can connect pallets to form walls.

Cover the structure with plastic sheeting.

It is a sturdy, budget-friendly option.

Find pallets easily and build a functional greenhouse space for your vegetables or flowers quickly.

Tunnel Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showcasing a long, low tunnel greenhouse made with flexible hoops covered in clear plastic, stretching across a row of vegetables.

Cover entire rows of plants with a tunnel greenhouse.

You use hoops spaced apart and covered with plastic.

They are easy to set up and move.

Great for protecting lines of vegetables.

You extend the season for crops like lettuce, spinach, or carrots.

Vertical Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing a tall, narrow greenhouse structure with multiple levels or pockets for planting vertically, possibly attached to a wall or freestanding.

Grow upwards when ground space is low.

A vertical greenhouse has planting pockets or shelves stacked high.

Place it against a sunny wall or fence.

Perfect for herbs, strawberries, or leafy greens.

You make the most of every sunlit square inch you have.

DIY PVC Frame Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden displaying a simple greenhouse structure with a frame made entirely from white PVC pipes and connectors, covered with clear plastic sheeting.

Build a custom frame with PVC pipes.

You cut pipes and connect them with fittings.

Drape plastic sheeting over the frame.

PVC is lightweight, affordable, and easy to work with.

You can design a shape and size that perfectly fits your available garden space.

Small Hydroponic Greenhouse

A photo of a typical American home’s garden showing the interior of a small greenhouse where plants are growing in tubes with water circulating, using a hydroponic system instead of soil.

Combine greenhouse protection with hydroponics.

Grow plants without soil inside your small greenhouse.

Set up tubes or containers with nutrient-rich water.

You can grow more food in less space.

It also uses water very efficiently compared to growing in traditional garden soil.

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