Winter tends to be a
relatively quiet time of year for many gardeners, but if you are lucky
enough to have a conservatory, why not create a lush, tropical indoor
oasis and bring plants in from the garden to add bright, natural colours and designs into your home during the winter?
A conservatory,
or even a window sill, provides a perfect shelter from frost where you
can over-winter your tender plants such as begonias, herbs and heat
loving Mediterranean varieties including fig, olive, orange and lemon.
Or take the advice given in Gardeners’ World TV presenter Carol Klein’s
new book, where she recommends growing chillies indoors in a greenhouse,
conservatory or windowsill in the months leading up to Christmas.
She says, “Chillies look fabulous, with their red, orange, yellow – even
purple – fruits dangling like Christmas baubles, and they make very
decorative houseplants as long as they can get enough light, but I grow
them because I have come to love to eat the fruits.”
Bringing fragrant leaves such as Calycanthus into your home is another
way to make your house smell wonderful and keep your spirits up as the
winter closes in.
Head of Marketing and Communications at Anglian Home Improvements,
Melanie McDonald, says, “Modern conservatories are much better
insulated than many of the older designs, which allows homeowners to use
them all year round for a wide range of purposes. Many of Anglian’s
customers are keen gardeners and use their conservatories as an
extension of their garden as well as home throughout the seasons. In
addition to providing winter protection for plants and a perfect place
in which to start off spring bulbs, the colours and perfumes that can be
brought into the house are a real bonus at this time of year, plus you
get the benefit of being able to enjoy some of the results in your
cooking as well.”
Anglian Home Improvements is the UK’s biggest double glazing
window, door and conservatory specialist. Its range of traditional and
contemporary conservatories, including an orangery and conservatory
verandah, are all made in the UK using the most up-to-date uPVC
conservatory manufacturing and construction techniques.