ALL KINDS OF GREENHOUSES 



AN EDITORIAL PRESENTATION 



"V 



Considered as Adjuncts to the All-round Garden, as Self-contained Features that Accom- 

 modate Rare Exotics, and as a Proper Indoor Sport for the Real Gardener During the 

 Winter. Certain Limitations that Cannot be Overcome Because of Natural Laws 



HEREVER it is (and 



whoever its owner may 



be) a greenhouse is 



bound to be one of 

 three things: it is a structure 

 wherein certain plants are 

 grown for the purpose of secur- 

 ing their flowers or fruit — in 

 other words a flower or fruit 

 factory; or it is a general labor- 

 atory attached to the garden, 

 where plants are propagated, 

 nursed to health when sick, and 

 wintered if tender, and grown 

 for use in the dwelling; or it is 

 an indoor garden with all that 

 the term implies of a place in 

 which to loiter as well as to 

 potter about — a place of real 

 charm and beauty as well as a 

 suitable home for the plants 

 which grow therein. In this last 

 character it may be more a con- 

 servatory than a greenhouse, 

 although a conservatory is not 

 strictly speaking to be regarded 

 in the same way as a green- 

 house, since it affords a home 

 only for plants grown elsewhere 

 and brought into it for show. 



Some of the elaborate winter gardens are of this type 

 as well, being planned to be continually filled from growing 

 houses built for the purpose. But the garden under glass is 

 not of necessity carried on in this double fashion since plants 

 will grow in it even as they grow 

 out of doors in the outdoor summer 

 garden, if it is planned to that end. 

 For the fullest enjoyment of a gar- 

 den enthusiast there is no doubt 

 that this is the better choice, since 

 the varied operations of both gar- 

 dens may then be carried on sup- 

 plementally and a variety of effects 

 be enjoyed — not identical 

 with each other by any 

 means, but along parallel 

 lines. 



Actually there is a green- 

 house for every kind of place 

 — and person. And there 

 is sound reason for every 



UNOBTRUSIVELY PLACED YET DEFINITELY A FEATURE 

 Come upon in the grounds of Mr. Jere A. Downs, Winchester, Mass. 

 by way of a winding path of stepping stones bordered with Sumach 



THINGS TO REMEMBER IN BUILDING 



Standard Dimensions 



Side benches 3 feet wide Centre benches 3 feet wide 



Walks 4 feet wide 

 House 1 1 feet wide allows two side benches, one walk. 

 House 18 feet wide allows two side benches, two walks and 



one centre bench. 

 House 25 feet wide allows two side benches, two centre 



benches, three walks. 

 Length is usually figured in units of 25 feet. 



(Centre benches may be 6 feet wide if desired.) 



Things to be sure of 



Foundation to below frostline 

 Cypress only, if of wood frame 

 Wood rafters 2" thick finished 

 Roof pitch 7-8" to the foot 

 Clear white glass, double thick 

 Heating plant 25% above requirements 

 Uninterrupted sun exposure always 

 Well considered inside plan 

 Benches on level with sill 



kind of place and person having 

 one; for a greenhouse is not in 

 any sense of the word an ex- 

 travagance, save as it is made 

 one in the manner of handling. 

 To the large place it is an es- 

 sential adjunct of both the or- 

 namental and practical gardens; 

 to the medium-sized establish- 

 ment it is a valuable addition 

 to these; and to the tiny plot 

 of ground around a suburban 

 home it is practically a multi- 

 plication of opportunity by two 

 at any rate, if not by four or 

 five. And going one step fur- 

 ther it is a garden where there 

 is no ground at all, since the 

 roof of a city residence will fur- 

 nish an ideal site. Similarly it 

 may require the time of several 

 men, or only one; or it may be 

 its enviable owner's own partic- 

 ular hobby, sharing the heat of 

 his house and not dependent 

 therefore upon separate stoking; 

 and occupying him in his off 

 hours. If it is to be cared for 

 in this way, however, it is well 

 to say at once that it should be 

 small; for, like a garden, a greenhouse may easily be large 

 enough to get out of hand and never be gotten in again! 



The kind of greenhouse which is decided upon will of course 

 govern its location very largely, and of course the converse 



is equally weighty. The purely 

 working glass house should be placed 

 where its relation to the garden that 

 it serves makes for the highest de- 

 gree of efficiency in handling the 

 plants as they go in or come out; 

 and apart from this consideration 

 there is actually no other, as far as 

 the building itself is concerned. 

 ., With regard to the gar- 

 den's appearance and de- 

 sign, however, the location 

 of a building of such ag- 

 gressive character is of 

 tremendous consequence, 

 and demands the most 

 thoughtful care. For 



Things to beware of 



Meager and improper foundation 



Incorrect roof pitch 



Insecure framework 



Wrong wood for framework 



Framework too heavy or too light (if wood) 



Insufficient capacity in heating plant 



Color in the glass 



Location too near a boundary screen 



Benches set too low 



137 



