GARDEN / GREENHOUSE

The Greenhouse

Status: active · Contents: partially catalogued · Rear door: locked(?)
"The greenhouse predates me. The previous owners told the estate agent they had not used it. The glass was clean when I arrived, which suggests someone had been maintaining it. Or that nothing had gotten in to dirty it." — C. Jiang
🪟 GREENHOUSE INTERIOR — PARTIAL INVENTORY
🌵
Species unknown — resembles cactus

Grows in complete darkness. The glass above its shelf is opaque — I have not cleaned it; it has simply become opaque. The plant appears healthy. Its spines are longer than those of any known cactus species and arranged in a spiral pattern I recognise from the east garden. ARRIVED: unknown

🪴
Species unknown — pale, no visible roots

This plant appears to float in its pot. The soil beneath it is dry and undisturbed. When I lift the pot, there is nothing underneath. I have tried four times to repot it. It is always in the original pot the next morning. ARRIVED: 2020-07-??

🌱
12 identical seedlings, back shelf

These appeared on 12 December 2020. There are exactly 12. They do not grow. They have been exactly this size for two years. Their leaves are the same shape, size, and colour. I have photographed them weekly. They are always exactly the same. ARRIVED: 2020-12-12 COUNT: 12

🌾
Long grass — shelf by rear door

Very dark green, almost black at the tips. It leans slightly toward the rear door. Always. Regardless of light direction. I have rotated the shelf. The grass still leans toward the door. ARRIVED: 2019 — may predate purchase

REAR CABINET — CONTENTS UNKNOWN

There is a cabinet against the back wall of the greenhouse. It is locked with a brass padlock. I do not have a key for this padlock. The shape of the keyhole is unusual — I have never seen a lock of this type. I have not attempted to force it. I notice that I have not attempted to force it, and I am not sure why. It does not feel like something that should be forced.

NOTE — 2021-08-30 The rear door. I want to be precise about this. The greenhouse has a rear door made of the same glass as the walls. Through it I can see — clearly — a staircase going downward. Stone steps. No artificial lighting, but somehow visible. I have knocked on the door. The knock produces no sound. The door has a handle. I have put my hand on the handle once. I let go before turning it. The handle was cold — much colder than the fountain. I have not gone through the door yet. I am writing this in case I do.
UPDATE — 2022-02-14 I went through the door.
the staircase goes down fourteen steps. at the bottom there is a door. the door was there before the house. before the garden. before Jiang. it has been waiting for someone who would notice it.