Posts Tagged ‘home greenhouses conservatory’
The History of the Home Conservatory
Home conservatories are a general term that can also include orangeries and greenhouses. While many individuals may feel that conservatories are a relatively new concept they really are not.
The history of these structures starts out in the early times of the ancient Chinese and Roman Empires. Both of these cultures were exploring the world in the great age of Exploration and needed a way of protecting fragile plants from the cold winds of winter. Conservatories provided this protection. These decorative glass houses provided not only protection but also a way of stylishly displaying ones exotic plant material.
At this point, the structures begin to become more specialized with the collection of citrus fruits. This type of plant material collection moved from Italy northward toward Holland. The Dutch then took the Italian orangerie design and made it more sophisticated. This splendid development can be seen at Louis XIV’s orangerie at Versailles.
