Orangery
The orangery provided a luxurious extension of the normal range and season of woody plants, extending the protection which had long been afforded by the warmth offered from a masonry fruit wall.
Gradually, due to technological advancements, orangeries became more of a classic architectural structure that enhanced the beauty of an estate garden, rather than a room used for wintering plants.
[3] The orangery originated from the Renaissance gardens of Italy, when glass-making technology enabled sufficient expanses of clear glass to be produced.
The trees might be planted against a brick wall and enclosed in winter with a plank shed covered with "cerecloth", a waxed precursor of tarpaulin, which must have been thought handsomer than the alternative: For that purpose, some keep them in great square boxes, and lift them to and fro by iron hooks on the sides, or cause them to be rowled by trundels, or small wheeles under them, to place them in a house or close gallery.
Insulation at these times was one of the biggest concerns for the building of these orangeries, straw became the main material used, and many had wooden shutters fitted to keep in the warmth.
[8] Contemporary domestic orangeries are also typically built using stone, brick, and hardwood, but developments in glass, other materials, and insulation technologies have produced viable alternatives to traditional construction.
Improved design and insulation has also led to an increasing number of orangeries that are not built facing south, instead using light maximising techniques to make the most of available natural sunlight.
[12] The orangery at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, was designed in 1761 by Sir William Chambers and at one time was the largest glasshouse in England.
[13] The orangery at Margam Park, Wales, was built between 1787 and 1793 to house a large collection of orange, lemon, and citron trees inherited by Thomas Mansel Talbot.
[19] In the United States, the earliest partially intact surviving orangery is at the Tayloe Family Seat, Mount Airy, but today is an overgrown ruin, consisting only of one major wall and portions of the others' foundations.
This orangery sits behind the main house and consists of a large open room with two smaller wings added at some point after the initial construction.
A second story was traditionally part of the style of orangeries at the time of its construction in the middle to late 18th century as a way of further insulating the main section where the plants were kept.
Considered an ambitious structure by his contemporaries, the main room featured a vaulted ceiling for air circulation, and incorporated radiant heating from a series of flues under the floor.
[25] The Dumbarton Oaks estate in Washington, D.C., includes an orangery built in 1810 that is now used to house gardenias, oleander, and citrus plants during the winter.
[29] In the late 19th century, Florence Vanderbilt and husband Hamilton Twombly built an orangerie on their estate, Florham, designed by architects McKim, Mead & White.
