The backyard greenhouse is finally getting some respect, The Wall Street Journal reported. Avid gardeners, many of them retired baby boomers, are building greenhouses not just for gardening, but also for crafting, reading and lounging—in essence, a female version of the "man cave."

By day, they are sunny, private, plant-filled sanctuaries filled with the sound of classical music or NPR. By night, they are sparkling spaces for cocktails amid exotic foliage. Either way, they are worlds away from the rinky-dink eyesores that backyard greenhouses used to be, all flimsy plastic and wobbly poles.

"I love to go out there on a cold January day," says Alice Preyer, 56, whose greenhouse is built of heavy aluminum and tempered glass from an English-imported kit behind her 1930s brick home in Greensboro, N.C. "The sun is beating in, and it feels fabulous," she says.

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