|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People who live in glass houses, as we all know, shouldn't throw stones.
People who want glasshouses, on the other hand, are just a stone's throw
away from a mind-crushing array of decisions. Some Semantics "Orangery" was an early term for a conservatory, since this subtropical fruit was all the rage when first discovered by residents of temperate climes. There's evidence that Pompeians were growing oranges behind mica windows in the 15th century before their run-in with Mount Vesuvius. Probably the world's best-known orangery is the one Louis XIV built at Versailles in the last half of the 17th century. Some early greenhouses and conservatories looked like ordinary rooms with a disproportionate number of windows-masonry structures with a solid roof and a stone or packed-earth floor to stand up to moisture and plant clippings. In the 1700s a common design was a lean-to of south-facing glass with a brick wall to the north. Around the turn of the 19th century, the availability of cast iron made possible stronger structures with more sash. In 1816, English horticulturist J.C. Loudon invented a wrought-iron sash bar, less brittle than cast iron and cheaper than wood, which could be curved for glass domes. Loudon championed ridge-and-furrow glazing-what amounts to corrugated glass. With the ridge running north-south and panes facing east and west, greenhouses would get more gentle sun than with a flat southern exposure. Because England taxed glass by weight until 1845, individual panes were still small and thin. Joseph Paxton, gardener to the Duke of Devonshire, seems to have bided his time until the glass-tax repeal before designing and building his famous Hyde Park Crystal Palace in 1851. Erected in 22 weeks, it covered 19 acres. The industrial prowess of the Victorian era easily accommodated stylistic excesses; conservatories got Gothic, Moorish, and even Anglo-Japanese touches. The structures often represented what one authority called a battle between architecture and horticulture. The Crystal Palace itself was unheated, and as the amount of glass in these buildings grew, better temperature control became imperative. More humble early gardeners sheltered their crops in sash pits heated with decomposing manure or vegetable matter. The Dutch were among the first to heat larger greenhouses, using charcoal braziers. A common technology in the 1700s, both in the mother country and America, was hollow walls or flues that ran under the floor, allowing hot air or smoke to run the length of the building from a brick fireplace on one end to a chimney on the other. By the late 18th century, the British were providing plants with both
heat and humidity by steaming them with perforated pipes laid under
stone or rock. Steam gave way in the mid-1800s to hot water heat. Especially
efficient were the cast-iron boilers patented by Lord & Burnham
in the 1870s, which could go without tending through an entire wintry
night. These advances-by such other names as Hitchings, Pierson Sefton,
American, Metropolitan, National, Foley, Lutton, Josephus Plenty, Ikes
Braun (IBG), and Rough Brothers-created a boom in both private (at least
for the wealthy) and commercial greenhouses. From Dream to Reality Jim Smith and Mark Ward, who make their living restoring and rebuilding
old glasshouses, say a lot can go wrong on both ends of the economic
scale. "There's an inherent conflict of interest," says Smith,
"between plants and oriental carpets." Avid gardeners wanting a small but historically detailed greenhouse
can be disappointed by kits that yield what Smith describes as "little
hybrid Victorian pavilions with double ogee roofs" that provide
neither adequate venting nor shading. People with moderate talent can repair old greenhouses, Ward says.
Most structures are modular, similar to Erector sets, and so can be
reborn smaller. New Jersey client Susan Shaw, for instance, paid $1,500
for pieces of a greenhouse originally 24´ by 56´ and Ward
rebuilt it as a more manageable 12´ by 40´. Factors to Consider Heat Hot water systems in old greenhouses produce efficient, even heat, but can't always be repaired easily. Smith says passive radiant heat is a close second choice. Ward's client Susan Shaw says her attached greenhouse is warmed sufficiently by a heated pool and her home's heating system. Another client, Brian Hollen, finds that his south-facing greenhouse helps heat his home, despite its location on a windy hilltop. Ventilation Greenhouses need a way for heat and humidity to escape. Vents can be as low-tech as simply opening windows, or be set to open and shut automatically via a computerized system that responds to temperature, wind, and rain. Glass For safety, greenhouse restorers usually replace old greenhouse glass with tempered glass, especially overhead. Ward says that, depending on the manufacturer, tempered glass can be wavy like old glass, "with kind of a funhouse effect." Experts don't always agree on whether the glass should be single- or double-glazed. Ward says it depends on whether you'll be growing temperate or tropical plants. Shade In southern locations and depending on the structure's orientation, glass is sometimes tinted or whitewashed all or part of the year. Shadecloth is another alternative. Tall plants can help shade smaller ones. Supports Museum houses usually replace the original material. At Hearst Castle, epoxy and reshaping allowed a restoration crew to rescue about 95 percent of one greenhouse's original wood supports. "It would have been easier to mill new pieces," says project leader Bruce Jackson. A homeowner would be hard pressed to put that much time and money into it. Rusty cast-iron supports can be cleaned and galvanized. If any are missing, you can sometimes find original drawings and have parts recast. The New York Botanical Garden has a wealth of Lord & Burnham plans, as does Under Glass in Lake Katrine, New York, which took over the manufacture of that company's greenhouses. An aluminum extrusion is a less expensive alternative. Among suppliers of greenhouses and conservatories, many are distributors of structures designed and built in England. Says Smith, "They've been doing this for 200 years, and we've spent just the last 20 trying to catch up." With the recent flurry of high-visibility restorations and increased sales, however, he believes glasshouses may be on the cusp of a huge renaissance. He notes that Lord & Burnham built its famous Irvington, New York, foundry in 1895. "We've passed the hundred year mark. I think we're going through a second wave."
Classic Glasshouses to Visit: Lyman Estates, Waltham, Massachusetts Lyndhurst Estate, Tarrytown, New York The Mark Twain House, Hartford, Connecticut Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
Suppliers: Amdega-Machin Conservatories City Visions, Inc. Colebrook Conservatories Creative Structures Four Seasons Sunrooms Glass House Conservatories Hartford Conservatories Montgomery Smith, Inc. Oak Leaf Conservatories Private Garden Greenhouse Systems Renaissance Tanglewood Conservatories, Inc. Under Glass Mfg. Corp. Mark Ward |
|
|
|
||
| ¾ | ¾ |
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|