HISTORIC GLASSHOUSE MANUFACTURER HARTLEY BOTANIC
ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Historic Glasshouse and Greenhouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic experienced a renewed demand from homeowners in its beautiful, handmade Greenhouses during lockdown, as the benefit of being more self-sufficient and ‘growing your own’ was thrown sharply into focus. The Lancashire-based business, which has been operating since 1938, experienced a c.35 percent increase in customers citing ‘growing their own’ as the primary reason they wanted to invest in a Glasshouse or Greenhouse during lockdown, with customers saying they ‘never want to be caught out like this again.’ To meet the demand of homeowners desperate for a Hartley Botanic, the manufacturer now offers same-day ‘virtual home visits’ to help speed-up the planning of customer orders.
If lockdown inspired you to think about owning a Glasshouse or Greenhouse for the first time, but you don’t know where to start, Hartley Botanic has provided the answers to some of the most common questions asked by new customers.
What size and type of Glasshouse or Greenhouse should I buy?
Envisaging how you would like to use and enjoy your Greenhouse is a useful consideration in deciding upon a design and final size. There are a huge number of ways a Greenhouse can bring your gardening potential alive, and also expand the way you utilise your garden as an outdoor space.
Perhaps you want your Greenhouse to fulfil a dual purpose, to be a very practical tool for growing your own food but also, an alfresco room where you can sit amongst your plants – for this, a structure which allows for a generous seating area with a view of key staging areas could be a consideration. In terms of size, our Victorian Lodge would be ideal for this. Or perhaps it will enable you to indulge a passion for alpines and, being able to admire them from the outside is as important as growing them. With its unique square architecture our Grange Glasshouse could be an interesting choice. Or perhaps you want to grow fresh flowers for your property and are interested in blurring the divide between your living rooms and your garden – consider an abutting Greenhouse accessible from within your home.
What is the optimal position in my garden for a Greenhouse?
Your Greenhouse needs access to as much sunlight as possible during all seasons of the year so positioning is an important consideration. Avoid locating your Greenhouse in the shadow of tall trees, boundary fences or walls as these will obstruct light.
For lean-to Greenhouses placed against a wall, a south-facing position is ideal. For stand-alone structures, the ridge along the top of the Greenhouse should ideally run from East to West, this will allow the sun to run along its longest side during the day. Other elemental considerations include a location to catch prevailing winds for ventilation purposes and choosing a site which is not shaded, but equally not too exposed to the cold.
Site your Greenhouse in close proximity to an electricity (if utilising) and water supply, and on fertile soil if you want to install growing beds.
It is also important to consider how the structure will fit aesthetically into your landscaping as a whole. Your Greenhouse needs to find a natural place within your existing garden, rather than dominate it.
Will I need planning permission?
You may need to obtain planning consent prior to installing a Greenhouse. It’s worth contacting your local planning authority at an early stage, so you get a clear understanding of what is – and isn’t – permissible.
If planning permission is needed, we are very happy to provide drawings for use in your application. We can also provide guidance from our technical teams, either for yourself or your contractor.
What are the benefits of a ‘lean-to’ and an abutting Greenhouse? And how do they differ?
Lean-to and abutting Greenhouses can provide clever, neat and stylish design solutions which make effective use of smaller outdoor spaces or give direct access to your Greenhouse through your property.
Lean-to Greenhouses are placed along south-facing or well-lit walls and work well in both walled gardens and against a property’s external wall. They are ideal for compact garden areas – The Hartley Lean-tos’ neat layout is enhanced further by its side-sliding doors at the entrance, moving away from the neighbouring wall. With their roof pitch highest next to the adjoining wall, lean-to designs provide ideal spaces to grow fruit trees and ornamentals which benefit from being trained, such as Pelargonium and Bougainvillea.
Abutting Greenhouses and Glasshouses are typically attached to a building by their side. Attaching a Greenhouse to the side of your property can create beautiful, architectural interest and a contemporary look. This is especially true if selecting stone for the Greenhouses’ dwarf wall which mirrors that of the property itself.
I notice many of your Greenhouses are on dwarf walls. Why is this and what are the other options?
Many of our customers prefer the traditional look using a dwarf wall gives, and for some, this also provides a clever way to visually unify a Greenhouse with the customers’ property by using the same bricks or stone. Construction on a dwarf wall has the added benefit of being able to include attached cold frames to the Greenhouse or Glasshouse design, providing extended but separate storage space and a different growing environment.
Hartley Botanic does also manufacture and install many glass to ground structures. Our contemporary Opus Glasshouse is a glass to ground structure as is our Westminster and our Grow and Store. These structures offer an alternative aesthetic with the benefit of maximising light within the Greenhouse, helping to make full use of the growing season.
What water access will I need?
Watering is arguably the most important daily task in the routine of owning a Greenhouse, so easy access to a mains water supply is a must, especially during dry seasons. There are automatic watering systems available for Greenhouse owners, but for domestic structures, these are not always necessary and lack the intuition and personal touch of a gardener, able to tailor watering according to each plants’ needs. We recommend Greenhouse owners make use of sustainable water sources, using water butts to collect rainwater and ‘grey’ water recycled from baths or sinks. This will save on the amount of water you need to use without negatively impacting your plants – unless they include bleach, caustic materials or artificially softened water (as found in dishwashers and washing machines.) Hartley Botanic offers beautiful, Victorian-style, cast iron heating and drainage grates which are very effective at draining away excess water, at the same time as providing a stunning, classic aesthetic.
How do I ventilate my Greenhouse?
One of the most common reasons for plant failure in Greenhouses is due to insufficient ventilation. Ventilation is maximised and prioritised for Hartley Botanic customers with the number and position of vents being determined according to the specific needs of each bespoke structure. Our Victorian range comes with automatic vents and our other models come with manual ventilation as standard which can be upgraded on request.
Is an electricity supply essential?
Running an electricity supply directly to your Hartley Botanic Greenhouse is not essential, but it can certainly make your life easier and your Greenhouse more efficient.
Both heat and light are wonder ingredients for your flourishing plants and can be exploited further if available in all seasons and at all times of day or night. Lighting gives you the chance to extend your time in your Greenhouse by improving visibility and can encourage growth. Fan heaters are very efficient at circulating heat, even in medium and large structures.
For heating extremely large structures, electricity isn’t necessarily required – a hot water pipe system with a boiler powered by gas or oil is the norm. Thermostats for this system should be located at plant height near the centre of the Greenhouse where it will not be influenced by drafts or sidewall cooling and protected from direct contact with sunlight and water.
How much should I spend?
This really depends on the type of Greenhouse or Glasshouse you would like, its size and scope. When considering the size of your Greenhouse or Glasshouse, weighed against its potential cost, it is important to consider how long you are likely to be using it as a growing space and how your needs may change over time. With a Hartley Botanic Greenhouse you are guaranteed to be investing in a structure which will last for at least 30 years (see our 30-year lifetime guarantee), with many of our Greenhouses and Glasshouses lasting much longer – many of our early structures from the 1950’s are still standing and in full use (such as the Hartley Botanic Greenhouse at Belgrave Hall, installed in 1950 and the Glasshouse in Glasgow Botanical Gardens installed in 1988.)
As your Hartley Botanic Greenhouse will grow with you and your garden over many, many years we recommend taking a long-term view. If practical within your garden and budget, a larger structure provides more scope to meet your future growing ambitions, which are likely to increase, especially if you are a first-time Greenhouse owner.
Clearly, if considering a larger structure, final budget considerations should include potential heating and lighting costs.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HARTLEY BOTANIC’S ‘HOME VISITS & VIRTUAL HOME VISITS’, PLEASE VISIT:
All Hartley Botanic’s Glasshouses and Greenhouses are handmade, bespoke and made to order. Customers interested in purchasing a Hartley Botanic Greenhouse should visit: http://www.hartley-botanic.com or call 781 933 1993 for more information.
‘Why Hartley?’
Unrivalled. Unparalleled. Unique. There are Glasshouses, and there are Hartley Botanic Glasshouses. Combining inspired design with enduring quality, nothing quite enhances your garden like a Hartley Botanic. The manufacturer prides itself on five key pillars of service which sets it apart:
1. Beauty and elegance
The incomparable range of simply beautiful and elegant structures means Hartley Botanic can create designs that are distinctive and unique. The Victorian, Heritage and Modern Glasshouse ranges, means customers don’t have to go anywhere else to find the widest range of beautifully crafted, high- quality Glasshouses.
2. Structurally superior
Every Hartley Botanic Glasshouse is handmade in the North of England to customers’ exact requirements. They are made of the finest materials with unparalleled durability, safety and beauty. All of their sections have a structural purpose. They never take short cuts by ‘sticking’ aluminium to glass for aesthetic reasons. They are so confident of the structural integrity of their Greenhouses; they offer a 30 year Lifetime Guarantee.
3. A reputation beyond compare
Hartley Botanic’s brand heritage and reputation has been built on trust for over 80 years. Hartley Botanic has earned an unrivalled reputation for crafting the finest Glasshouses and Greenhouses money can buy through the very highest standards of hard-won experience, craftsmanship and service.
4. Unrivalled knowledge and expertise
With a wealth of knowledge and expertise built into every Hartley Botanic Glasshouse, generations of customers have put their trust in the hands of the manufacturer’s expert, time served, highly skilled craftsmen. Hartley Botanic creates Glasshouses of distinction from decades of knowledge and care.
5. Exceptional delivery of service
Once an order has been handmade to customers’ personal requirements, and to Hartley Botanic’s exacting standards, the delivery and installation will be exceptional. The proud team at Hartley Botanic are there to ensure the process runs smoothly, providing customers with the information they need and keeping them up to date throughout.
For press enquiries please contact:
The Hartley Botanic US team at WADE PR on: [email protected]