Saturday, November 7, 2009

The Glasshouse




In my opinion, one of the most beautiful features of the Big House garden is the greenhouse. It is only a few years old, but based upon some old designs. It is the centerpiece of the walled garden where we grow vegetables and flowers for cutting.

On a cold autumn day, it is a pretty fabulous place to be. On those rare occasions when we get snow (perhaps one or two mornings a year), it's UNBELIEVABLE! We've finished bringing in most of the things we're planning to overwinter, and it's coming together really nicely.
Some of the smaller things are in various stages of growth, and many will get circulated in and out of the house over the winter (amaryllis, begonias, etc.)

The tree fern in the top and bottom photos was an absolute bear to get from the pool area where it summers down to the greenhouse, but I think it really sets the stage for the winter!
The Alocasia that is on the side in a couple of shots is "Portadora," and we've had the bulb for three years now. This is actually one of the babies from the original bulb, and it's the first year that I'm just letting it continue to grow through the winter to see what happens. We did a concrete cast of one of the leaves recently, and it took 120 lbs of concrete!

9 comments:

  1. Oh it would not do for me to have such a large conservatory. I bet it's a great place to spend a cold winter's day too. Be sure to show us when it snows.

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  2. That's a glasshouse on a private property?! Wow! i think it would be a stunning location for a holiday party, complete with candles, dimmed lights, and those poinsettia Xmas tree arrangements.

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  3. We actually do fill in with lots of poinsettias around the holidays, which makes it pretty amazing! What is hard to convey here is that the fragrances are also overwhelming....at the moment, there are lemons and gingers in full bloom.

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  4. Tom, the space is a constant temptation for me, so it's good that the glass house belongs to someone else. I control the impulses to add by forcing myself to only have things that are: (a) pretty at the present time; and (b) in terra cotta (or terra cotta looking for the larger pots). I have an iron clad "this is not a plant rescue site" rule for myself and the people who assist me at that house.

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  5. It's just beautiful and would be a dream to have!

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  6. It is beautiful. I'd love to have one of those.

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  7. Tim, aren't glasshouses a wonderous thing? While I love my little "conservatory", I'm envious of this one, with reservations. If I had something this size, it would be that constant temptation you mention - I'd be buying plants like there's no tomorrow, and it would very rapidly overwhelm me. But what a way to go.....

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  8. Very beautiful glasshouse... someday I'd love to have one too :) I do floral arrangements and how I wish I can grow my own flowers!

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