There are many great reasons to install a traditional conservatory at your home. You can enjoy supreme style that will impress visitors and boost your home’s value, particularly in comparison with more modern-style conservatories. You can also enjoy lots of space and comfort that enhances your lifestyle immensely.
However, there is more you can do when it comes to maximising the space you have. People may do different things with a conservatory depending on factors such as whether they have a young family, how much leisure time they have and how often they want to entertain.
If you do have the time and the inclination for a bit of horticulture, you may plan to use your conservatory for its most traditional purpose of all, as a place to grow plants in a controlled environment protected from the harshest weather and temperatures the capricious British climate can throw at them.
A Whiff Of Inspiration?
There are certainly some interesting things grown indoors at various locations around Britain. Kew Gardens has been in the news recently after its titan arum specimen flowered. This only happens for a few days every two years, but when it does it emits a somewhat interesting aroma, one that has given it the nickname ‘the Corpse flower’.
Given both the rarity of the event and the spectacle for both eyes and noses awaiting those who visit this extraordinary plant when it flowers, it is no surprise there have been long queues to pay a visit.
Of course, the fact that Kew can host this and other remarkable species of plant lies in the very large size and heating of its greenhouses. It grows to around ten feet tall and, in its natural habitat, inhabits the Sumatran rainforest. That also requires hot and humid conditions.
What Can You Grow?
All this means that even if you could bear the smell, trying to install a corpse flower in your conservatory is not a good idea. But what unusual or interesting plants could you grow in there?
There are certainly plenty of specimens that will flourish in your conservatory if you cultivate them well in the microclimate that they exist in. This includes succulents and also citrus fruits like oranges and lemons.
According to The Gardener, key steps include keeping temperatures above ten degrees Celsius in winter and between 15 and 20 degrees in the growing season. If you have tropical plants, use humidifiers and mist their leaves frequently to replicate the moist conditions they would thrive in naturally. You can also place plants in pots filled with wet gravel.
At the same time, temperature control also involves preventing the conservatory from getting too hot. Tinted windows and lots of ventilation are modern essentials that can help you maintain a comfortable space without being dazzled or sunburned. With these, it will be a more pleasant environment for plants and humans alike.
Of course, the extent to which you may need temperature control may depend on a range of factors, such as whether your conservatory is fully south-facing (a north-facing one would be a bad idea as it would only get direct sun on summer mornings and evenings), as well as how much shade may be provided by adjacent buildings and trees.
Growing Non-Tropical Plants
Your plants need not necessarily be tropical in any case. Citrus fruit, for example, grows in the sub-tropics while tomatoes and grapes grow in a Mediterranean climate.
Tomatoes certainly need a warm conservatory to grow in, so they need to get lots of light, with at least eight hours a day. They also need to be watered frequently – and every day when the weather is very hot and sunny.
You will need to plant your tomato seeds early in the year to give them the six months they need to grow from scratch and provide your first batch of ripe summer fruits. Once established, however, it can keep providing you with more every year.
You may also consider adding some extra plants to keep flies and other pests away. An exotic indoor fly trap like a pitcher plant, Venus fly trap or sundew can deal with them without the need for fly spray or running around with a fly swatter, and add a little extra interest to the floral array.
There will come times when plants need re-potting, pruning and bugs killing off. You will need to spend a lot of time looking after your conservatory plants, but the reward will be some fine, flourishing specimens that will make the space look more attractive, impress visitors, and may also provide some food for your kitchen table.