The Amateur’S Greenhouse And Conservatory

Glass, iron, and living colour: the Victorian greenhouse was a small kingdom, and Shirley Hibberd knew how to run it. Build it well, grow better. The Amateur’s Greenhouse and Conservatory is a practical greenhouse gardening guide for anyone drawn to warm glass, scented foliage, and the steady pleasure of skilled care.Part horticulture reference manual, part classic gardening handbook, it sets out greenhouse construction methods and the day-to-day management of planthouses, with lucid notes on heating, ventilation, staging, and seasonal routine. It also keeps an eye on space and economy, so a modest structure can be made truly productive. From conservatory plant cultivation to the selection, cultivation, and improvement of ornamental greenhouse plants, Hibberd writes for amateur greenhouse growers and home conservatory owners who want results without fuss.A cornerstone of Victorian era horticulture, and a reminder of how 19th century Britain turned botany into a popular pursuit, this is one of the enduring botanical gardening classics: practical, readable, and rich with period know-how. Hibberd, one of Britain’s best-known popular garden writers, balances instruction with a sharp sense of taste: the conservatory as living room, the greenhouse as workshop, both as places of calm. Even for readers, it evokes winter evenings among leaves. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions, it is restored for today’s and future generations. More than a reprint -- a collector’s item and a cultural treasure -- it suits the working gardener and the classic-literature collector seeking an authoritative, illustrated greenhouse manual.