A Victorian orangery will blend glass structures with the brick of your home and can provide the warmth and shelter needed to grow fruits and plants more suited to a warmer climate. In the 17th century, orangeries were not only a symbol of prestige and wealth among royal and aristocratic families but as a place to grow exotic citrus fruits.
While orangeries are not generally used for this reason, they have kept the same essence of luxury and elegance and can provide open space with a lot of potential for your home. But that’s not to say that you can’t use your orangery for its original purpose, and not just to allow houseplants to thrive in additional natural light.
While the British weather makes it near impossible to grow some exotic plants outside, the orangery is the ideal place to cultivate plants and fruit trees. Combining the ability to grow plants with the décor and design of an inviting social space, orangeries are an excellent way to enjoy the peace and beauty of the outdoors, inside.
To help you make your own perfect space, we’ve put together a list of our top five favourite plants to grow inside an orangery.
Oranges
Why invest in an orangery if you’re not going to use it to grow oranges? If you’re just starting with your new orangery, or it is your first time using it for growing exotic citrus trees, then why not get back to basics with an orange tree.
When picking your orange tree, you may want to choose a Valencia, which is the most widely-grown variety in the world and produces big, sweet and delicious oranges, ready for you to pick when you want them.
It may be an idea to try a variety of dwarf orange trees, or trees that are naturally small, to start from. These trees, like Calamondin orange, will be easier for you to manage as you won’t need to cut and shape the tree down to fit the orangery.
Lemons
After oranges, citrus fruits are the most popular plants to grow in orangeries. Lemon trees are popular, as they grow faster than orange trees, and bear fruit throughout the year.
The Mayer Lemon is the most popular choice, living for up to 60 years, and produces slightly sweeter fruits that you can buy in the supermarket. Then you can then sit in your orangery with a G’n’T with a slice of lemon from your very own crop.
Cherries
It’s not just citrus trees, you can grow all kinds of fruit trees in your orangery, and cherries are a great example. As well as producing delicious fruit, cherry trees have beautiful blossoms in the spring, bringing extra beauty and colour into your orangery.
Bougainvillaea
For those that want to grow flowers instead of fruit, bougainvillaea is a great choice. As a tropical climbing plant, it is perfect for making your orangery come to life with a beautiful display of flowers and colours.
Cacti
Not everyone has green fingers and may find some plants and citrus trees challenging, so cacti may be the perfect option. They’re low maintenance and come in a vast range of shapes and sizes.
Although citrus is a common and popular choice, all kinds of fruit trees and plants grow well in orangeries, giving you fresh fruits, while adding colour and life to your orangery.
Want to transform your home with a Victorian-style orangery? Get in touch today.