Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a building or room having glass or other transparent roofing and walls, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom. Usually it refers to a space attached to a conventional building such as a house, especially in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, especially in America, it can often refer to a large freestanding glass-walled building in a botanic garden or park, sometimes also called a palm house if tall enough for trees. Municipal conservatories became popular in the early 19th century.
A traditional conservatory at the Horniman Museum in London, now used as a cafe.
A modern implementation, Adelaide's Bicentennial Conservatory
Conservatory interior in the Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, Czech Republic
An English conservatory, Dawley Court, near Hillingdon, Middlesex, photographed circa 1870
A greenhouse is a special structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that capture sunlight and heat. The most common materials used in modern greenhouses for walls and roofs are rigid plastic made of polycarbonate, plastic film made of polyethylene, or glass panes. When the inside of a greenhouse is exposed to sunlight, the temperature increases, providing a sheltered environment for plants to grow even in cold weather.
Victoria amazonica (giant Amazon waterlilies) in a large greenhouse at the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden
Young tomato plants for transplanting in an industrial-sized greenhouse in the Netherlands
Cucumbers reached to the ceiling in a greenhouse in Richfield, Minnesota, where market gardeners grew a wide variety of produce for sale in Minneapolis, c. 1910
Versailles Orangerie at the Palace of Versailles, France.