Orangery - a green place no matter the weather

A way to keep summer, look beautiful or simply store plants for the cold and hard frosts? Winter garden also known as orangery it is a single-storey, heated building, it can be free-standing or connected to the building through a terrace. Often having wide and very high windows that allow perfect light for the plants in the room. They used to be built in parks, palace gardens or by mansions, but today such a place can be had by anyone.

The location of the "glass room" in relation to the sides of the world is important, as is proper heating and ventilation. Remember to consider the speed of growing greenery around the house when choosing a site, it can greatly affect the later changes in the orangery. The greatest and most favorable sunlight will be provided by the south side of the world, even during winter days. Good conditions will also be when the garden is placed on the west side, but when selecting plants, it is necessary to remember the significant decrease in sunlight during the winter period. The eastern location is best when the conservatory is to be used as a dining room or studio. Warm, pleasant sunny morning hours will provide the flora with the right amount of light for the day, and in the afternoon there will be the right atmosphere and lighting for work or a nap.

For those with artistic interests and creative work, the conservatory should be located against the north wall. This side will also shield the building from the attacks of the coldest and most violent winds, which are very common in our climate. However, such a "place" will not allow us to place plants that need a lot of sun and heat. In order for vegetation to thrive you need to install an effective ventilation and sun protection system, such as the use of inter-glazing blinds. In addition, an important factor is the ideal insulation of the floor when you decide to build a year-round conservatory.

When arranging an orangery, you need to remember to build spacious containers for plants with drainage on the bottom, and then you can plant multi-species compositions in them. Some plants can, of course, be left in pots, remembering to put them in a substrate that will fill the container. When we focus on the implementation of our composition, we need to take into account the strength of plant growth. Those that will be the highest in the future should be placed closest to the masonry walls, smaller ones on the edges. Let's try to make sure that the thermophilic ones find their place under the crowns of these higher species. Those that have pendulous stems should be placed in baskets hanging from the ceiling or placed on shelves where they will cascade freely.

Plants for warmer conservatories (winter temperature 18-20° C)

• twilight: torsion, agglonema, calatea, pandanus, aspidistra, ktenante, fatsia, arrowroot, philodendron, monstera, syngonium, fatsioblollyceae

• diffused light: aukuba, begonia, cissus, bromeliads, diphenbachia, cibora, dracaena, ficus, dioscorea, African violet, gardenia, hoja, croton, palms, ferns, passionflower, orchids, phlox
• full sun: aloe, pineapple, thicket, hatiora, jatropha, kalanchoe, nolina,, palms, nettle, Chinese rose, wolfberry

Plants for cooler conservatories (winter temperature 10-15° C)

• twilight: ivy, citron

• diffused light: camellia, cyclamen, cordyline, primrose, azalea, pomegranate, sansevieria, columnea

• full sun: cacti, agave, wolfberry, laurel