|
Conservatory Hampshire Resources
© Your Conservatory.co.uk 2005
Latest Conservatory Hampshire Information The French botanist Jules Charles is attributed by many with the construction of the first really practical greenhouse in 1599 in Holland. The building was used to grow tropical plants for medicinal purposes, such as the Tamarind, used for curative potions. By the seventeenth century, various techniques for extending growing cycle and preserving plants from frost were invented in Germany and the low countries. In Heidelberg, individual shutters were set up around 340 orange trees in September and removed at Easter. This procedure was copied to protect England's first orange trees at Beddington. Diarist John Evelyn wrote in 1658 of the orange trees protected there by "a wooden tabernacle and stoves." A conservatory is a school dedicated to teaching the art of music including playing of musical instruments, musical composition, musicianship and music theory. A conservatory is also another name for a large greenhouse where plants are cultivated. The Romans, adept at channeling the waters and building for maximum comfort, had many schemes to enhance growing conditions for plants of all kinds. The Roman emperor Tiberius had a sort of greenhouse, called a Specularium, created with mica in small translucent flakes where we would today have glass. Tiberius, it is reported, needed a year-round supply of his favorite food: cucumbers! At Versailles, the orangerie is more than 500 feet in length, 42 feet wide and 45 feet high. The lovely fragrance of orange blossoms must have been a compelling attraction for special parties held by the French court in the orangerie. Orangeries can be seen at many English country houses (e.g. Saltram House (OR1), Plymouth, Hampshire; Sezincote (OR2), Gloucestershire) and on the grounds of several royal palaces (e.g. Kensington Palace, London, OR3), as well as throughout Europe. In Boston, Massachusetts, Andre Faneuil, a well-to-do businessman, built the first known American greenhouse about 1737 mainly to grow fruit. George Washington built a pinery at Mount Vernon in Virginia in which he raised pineapples. A regency-era garden in Washington, D. C., Tudor Place (1644 31st St. NW, Georgetown), survives from 1805, and can be visited today. In addition to the historic house with its fine federal-period furnishings, the garden reflects numerous features found in gardens of the day on both sides of the Atlantic. The Tudor Place conservatory dates from the late eighteenth century. In the style of orangeries, it has three huge windows, and naturally, faces south.Numerous flowering shrubs are kept there during the winter. Another resident of the conservatory at Tudor Place is a sago palm (Cycas revoluta), said to be the third generation descendent of a plant purchased in Philadelphia in 1813. A primary motivation for the improvement of greenhouse design was the English penchant for the collection and study of botanic material from all over the globe. The earliest explorers brought back seeds and exotic species. The damp, chill English climate needed some alteration if these new species were to survive and flourish. Kew Gardens (officially the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew) originally belonged to the royal family. Frederick, Prince of Wales, (son of George II and father of George III) and his wife, Princess Augusta, had a great interest in exotic plants. Their collection is the core of today's 40,000 varieties of plants at Kew. None of Kew's hothouses survive from the Georgian period. One regency-era building, which may have been partially an orangerie, was in a state of considerable disrepair when I last visited Kew. Resembling a Greek or Roman temple, it was slated for renovation, according to guides. Among the more familiar Kew buildings, the vast Palm House dates from 1844; one of the most recent additions to Kew is the Princess of Wales Conservatory, named in honor of Augusta, Princess of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, who opened the new structure in 1987. By 1825, greenhouses were becoming increasingly common, many heated by furnaces. The purpose of the greenhouse is to extend the growing season or to replicate tropical growing conditions in colder northern climes. Central Park has been in the works for 150 years. How did 843 acres of swampy, muddy terrain become transformed into one of the world's premier public spaces? Over the past twenty years, the history of Central Park has been greatly affected by the history of the Central Park Conservancy, the private, not-for-profit organization that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York/Department of Parks and Recreation. Look for Conservancy History to learn of the myriad improvements made to the Park through the contributions and hard work of private citizens, corporations, and foundations. Boston Conservatory - private institution in Boston, Mass. The conservatory was founded in 1867 and grants bachelor's and master's degrees in a variety of performing arts disciplines, including dance, music, opera, theater, voice, instruments, and music education. Students have numerous opportunities to gain performance experience through the conservatory's productions.
|