Conservatory

From Gardening Wiki

Greenhouse Conservatory

There are two forms of glass-house common to the gardens of most country homes : the conservatory, which adjoins the dwelling, and into which one or more of the sitting-rooms generally open ; and the greenhouse, which finds its separate place, with more or less aptitude for its purpose, in the garden. Now, " conservatory " is a pretentious name, and it might be wished that one more modest could be coined to replace it ; but it would seem as if few folk were alive to the fact that conservatory and greenhouse are not convertible terms.

Yet the difference between them is plain and well marked a conservatory being a shelter where plants in flower may be shown and admired, while the greenhouse is the home and, at times, the hospital of plants in growth. Where only one of these exists, doubtless there must be some adaptation to circumstances ; but it can scarcely be too much insisted on that the conservatory is not intended to be turned into a working greenhouse, as is too often done.

If it must be, then I venture to urge that it is better to draw a curtain between sitting-room and the inevitable dishevelment of the garden workshop, and to let a cheerful bay-window, a glass porch, or any other convenient position receive the plants we have cherished, when they are ready to be displayed in their beauty. The conservatory, being, in fact, an ante-chamber or vestibule to the living-rooms of the house, should be, equally with these, always in good order. One of the first considerations, therefore, is to keep it clean.

This very trite assertion may provoke a jeer, but only those who have held the reins of management in their own hands can have any idea of the way in which debris of withered leaves and fallen flowers accumulate, to say nothing of evil pests in the shape of slugs and caterpillars, woodlice and centipedes, which stray in and hide under stages and in odd corners and how important it is to keep clear of the unavoidable mustiness which comes of more or less perpetual damp.

For this reason it is strongly to be recommended that a conservatory be used strictly for pot plants, that there should be no heavy fixed stages and no inside border for permanent planting of shrubs or climbers, in order that, at short intervals, the house may be emptied and thoroughly cleaned and rearranged. Stands or stages should be used mainly as aids in the grouping of plants, and the lighter and more unobtrusive and easily movable they are the better.

These points are touched upon lightly here, for they must be reverted to later, and will very likely be regarded as fads; but experience teaches. Cleanliness and good order, with fresh, healthy plants, well grouped and not always in the same stereotyped position, go far to make even a small conservatory not only the joy and pride of its owner but a pleasure to all who see it.

A conservatory of this kind, however, necessitates some sort of separate and extra resource to act as feeder to it, and this may be found in cold frames or pits, or in a working greenhouse, from whence plants may be brought, and to which they can be returned when their flowering is over.