History of Conservatories

Mike and Danielle, from our family, wed at Como Park Conservatory in St Paul, Minnesota

The Queen Anne Orangary at Kensington Palace, London. Built in the 1500's, its design allowed citrus trees to be rolled out onto the terrace during good weather and rolled back into the orangary when not. The large windows were all opening doors at that time.

Conservatories are not a new trend. They are a resurrection of an old tradition which dates back more than 150 years. From the times when Britain's traveled the globe and brought back exotic species of plants to England, there has been a want and need to nurture plants in controlled environments.

Conservatories' origins in England.

As the British Navy travelled the globe, they discovered many varieties of plants, some of which cured or prevented disease. The British became curious to list all plants on the planet and identify the medicinal uses of each. Gathering and nurturing of plants became a passion.

Not being native to England, many of these plants required an artificial environment, so structures were erected with spans of windows for light and warmth to grow tropical plants. Oranges were a great favorite (since they treated scurvy, a common disease) so the original structures were called Orangeries. They later evolved into conservatories.

In the 1800's, garden conservatories were built at Kew Gardens in London. These were the model for conservatories that were to be built later in the USA by Lord and Burnam.

Two conservatories at Kew Gardens:

Next: Famous US conservatories