{"id":4194,"date":"2014-10-21T22:10:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T02:10:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T17:47:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T21:47:27","slug":"covet-thy-conservatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2014\/10\/covet-thy-conservatory\/","title":{"rendered":"COVET THY CONSERVATORY"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On my way up to visit my favorite conservatories at the Tower Hill Botanic Garden last weekend, I passed this impressive pile of New England squashes and pumpkins. Gotta love fall!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \nRaking leaves aside, we here in New England are in full, blown autumn – and it’s gorgeous. It’s one of my four favorite seasons, probably coming in second after winter ( I know, crazy, right?). It’s true – winter just might be my favorite gardening season – mainly because of my greenhouse. I can totally see why the cold conservatories and greenhouses of the 18th and 19 centuries were so popular – their scent, their collections of plants, and their escapist environments – let’s face it, there is nothing like a warm, humid greenhouse on a snowy day – all fragrant with jasmine vines, minty shrubs, forced bulbs and camellias. The same assemblage on a summer day just isn’t the same. This luxury is inexcusably rare – but there are great conservatories around worth visiting, and surely, there is one near you at a university or botanic garden which deserves a visit this autumn.<\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n \nUnderglass, an entirely new season is emerging – so rare and precious that I am convinced that earlier generations really knew the the value of a glasshouse – those Victorians, well, the ones who had money certainly did – a conservatory in autumn is an experience few people get to enjoy. I can sort-of get close with my greenhouse, but it’s no botanic garden. Still, it was something that I wanted to have built – I was one of those kids who decided that a new pick-up truck just wasn’t as cool as a greenhouse. I understand that not all readers can build one, but if you can, you will never regret it. In America, it is curious how so few people build a glass house whereas in England, so many middle class people do – then again, they are not buying 30,000 SUV’s. It’s just a lifestyle choice, and one has to decide what is most important to them. <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n \nIn the man time – I encourage you to visit a well-populated greenhouse or conservatory – one with a good collection, such as the sort found at a botanic garden this autumn – bring your kids, introduce them to the wonders of scent and science – It might just be what you need before the onset of the Holidays and the madness.<\/div>\n |