Design Ideas

Plants

People in glass houses

Conservatories used to be for plants

Not so now reckons STEPHEN ANDERTON

Have you ever stopped to wonder, really, what's the difference between a greenhouse and a conservatory?

The two do seem terribly confused these days they're both made out of glass and bridge the gap between the house and the garden.

But it seems to me that the main difference is that one is principally designed for people, and the other for plants.

Greenhouses are definitely for plants.

Conservatories used to be so, too, but they held mainly collections of rare, exotic and tropical species, artfully arranged so Victorian ladies could wander through and admire them, or take tea among their leafy fronds.

And, who knows, maybe a fumble with some villainous cavalry officer under the bananas.

Nowadays our houses are so much warmer and lighter than the old Victorian ones that we can grow a wide variety of houseplants quite happily inside them.

As a result, conservatories have become places primarily for people, somewhere we can enjoy that outdoor feeling, either reading the paper warm and cosy under a half-hearted summer sun, breakfast in pyjamas in December, or banqueting candle-lit under a harvest moon.

They've become a veritable Costa del Alitex.

Once you accept that greenhouses are for plants and conservatories are for people,
it makes sitting the two structures so much easier.

A greenhouse remains at heart a place to keep plants warmer. Some plants only require this in winter, others want extra heat even in summer. So, if you place the greenhouse in full sun but have access to lots of ventilation and shading, then you can control things manually, just as you wish.

But most of us don't want that extra work and responsibility. Most of us prefer to have a lean-to on a west-facing wall where it gets half the days sun, or an east or north-facing one, to care for plants that don't like direct sun.

For how ever much we complain about British summers, a closed-up greenhouse in full sun is as good as a pressure cooker, and red spider mites will breed like rabbits.

My own lean-to greenhouse faces south, borrowing heat from the house in winter, and enjoying the dappled shade of trees in summer. It causes very little hassle.

As for conservatories attach them to the house by all means, but forget about keeping plants in there unless they're trouble free, such as the odd tree fern or a big fatsia.

Avoid finicky plants such as citrus and plumbago which are a magnet for those pests and diseases which will secrete sticky goo onto your floor and soft furnishings.

Keep planting simple and mobile in a container, so if it attracts pests you can always wheel it outdoors for a good spraying.

And think twice before sticking a scaled-down replica of some Victorian crystal palace onto a simple modern house neither partner benefits. Simple modern houses need simple modern conservatories, with all the mod cons of double-glazing and draught-proofing, but without the twiddly bits and stained glass.

Do you really want your house to look like Ann Widdecombe wearing Edna Everage specs?

Sorry Ann

If your conservatory faces south, remember it's going to be very hot sometimes, and quite capable of cooking your few large house plants if left unventilated.

If it is ventilated, check the house is still secure. Sometimes it's better to compromise by settling for a conservatory that faces slightly away from the full blast of the sun.

Either way, it's a place for people - so put it where it works for you.