Cheltenham

This Conservatory was carefully taken down and successfully rebuilt onto a kitchen extension, to add a naturally lit space for enjoying coffees and tete a tetes, with views of the garden and the warm luxury of an interior landscape. The existing plant collection had suffered from the move and the owners felt ambitious about growing a new range of unusual species. For these reasons we decided to start again with new plants. The conservatory moved on from being a little used appendage at the end of the house, to a gorgeous new space full of welcome warmth and fragrance plus somewhere full of interest to be in real comfort.

Design and planting
The conservatory is joined at one wall via a door into the kitchen and has the benefit of uninterrupted sunshine from dawn till dusk, gaining a little shade from the tall native hedgerow which grows on the south side. There are additional roof blinds for cool shade in the summer with under floor heating to keep the conservatory warm enough in winter to allow a multitude of unusual plants to thrive, some at ground level, some on the generous window sills and colourful climbers rambling overhead. There is one tall, graceful palm tree to add height and scale and a mix of climbers, shrubs and small detail plants to complete the scene.

Life in the conservatory
There is a sofa for two and a bistro table and chairs giving different views of the interior so that wherever you sit amongst the plants, the feeling is cosy and luxurious. 

Caring for the plants
This collection of plants is truly diverse which means that they are pruned, trained and potted on at various times to suit their culture. A little knowledge goes a long way here and the owners take great care of this collection with Fleur De Lys visiting twice in the year, once in spring and once in late autumn.