Once upon a time, Lina's father used to work in the greenhouse. Lina has happy memories of those days, when she used to see him pottering about with plants and vegetables and working with the sprinklers. Sadly, those days are over, as Lina's father, like her mother, is no longer alive. But the greenhouse still holds many very happy memories for Lina, and she feels an overriding sense of peace and love whenever she enters the place.

Here, amid the potatoes and the cabbages, Lina can forget her grief and emotional pain. As for so many people, nature, even in its simplest form, provides Lina with a balm for her soul. The greenhouse also provides anyone who works there with a haven from the daily struggles of life in Ember. Even in such a challenging environment, it's possible for people here to establish some kind of connection with nature and all its riches.

That said, the problems of daily life in Ember are never far away, as Lina discovers when she sees that the potatoes in the greenhouse are riddled with disease. Whatever respite the greenhouse offers from the daily grind, it can only be a very brief one, as Lina finds out to her cost.