In order to achieve unity with nature in urban environments, a man came up with winter gardens. They are groups of plants located in glazed areas. Winter gardens differ from greenhouses and greenhouses in that they are created taking into account human needs and, to a lesser extent, plants. This article will discuss the basic rules for organizing a winter garden, the arrangement and layout of plants, the popular styles of gardens, and the basic mistakes of gardening.
Winter Garden
The microclimate of this room is significantly different from the residential premises and affects the self-perception in a private house and apartment. High humidity, high temperature and transparent glass walls create the effect of a corner of tropical nature. For the arrangement of premises under the garden are special requirements.
Bearing structures should be particularly durable and resistant to moisture. For glazing, double-glazed windows or plexiglass bags are most often used. The transparency of the walls creates a special feeling of unity with the environment in which the city behind the windows becomes part of the interior.
Important! Use the mirror surface in the decoration of the room to create an imitation of the water surface. This will visually expand the room reserved for the winter garden, revive it.
The main parameters that are subject to standardization - This is the temperature, humidity, insolation duration and its intensity. Garden unlike greenhouses and greenhouses is a comfortable room for a long rest of man. The temperature in it is maintained at 22 degrees, humidity - 50%, heating is carried out by convective or infrared heaters, and the duration of natural lighting is at least two hours a day.
Choosing a place: where is best to arrange a winter garden
It is believed that this recreation area is always a glazed extension to a private house. Residents of city apartments can allocate space for vases in their balcony or loggia. Those who do not have balconies can equip a well-lit niche or part of the room by the window as a garden.
By setting up your plot you can find a place for a swing, a gazebo, a trellis, a dry brook, rock arias, flower beds made of stones or tires, a ladybug, wattle, barbecue, alpine slide, waterfall, fountain.
Basic rules of arrangement
At first glance, the arrangement of a natural corner is a simple affair. You need to put some beautiful pot and keep them warm. But the organization of such a corner of nature requires certain skills and knowledge.
Glass doors and walls
Glass construction is a big “trap” for sunlight and heat. It allows you to warm the plants and passes the light necessary for the process of photosynthesis, even on cloudy days. The overall design will require the presence of a power frame, which will increase the rigidity of the structure and its resistance to weather phenomena. Such frames are most often made of aluminum.
The standard length of the supporting frame does not exceed six meters. Doors are usually installed sealed so that the natural corner does not affect the microclimate in the house, and the windows are mounted solid, without hinges.
Did you know? The first in the history of mankind winter gardens and greenhouses began to appear in Europe at the beginning of the XVI century. Then they were used to grow tropical crops, the fruits of which to deliver across the ocean were too unprofitable. Being in them for a long time was difficult - interfered with high humidity and temperature.
The combination of plants in size
The harmony of the garden cause plants of different levels. Even in the wild, they grow in groups of several species, so in the house be sure to combine small (up to 50 cm) plants with medium (up to 1 m). High plants (up to 2.5 m) should be combined with medium ones, and climbers should be used as soil-covering vases or sprinkled with decorative mulch on the soil. For a small garden, a variant of one tall plant with small flowers on the lower level is possible.
Color spectrum
A significant part of the area of the natural corner will be occupied by glass walls, so you will only have to choose the finishing for the ceiling and one (three-fronted garden) or two (two-fronted garden) walls. Stop at pastel natural shades. The most beneficial combination is pure white with natural woody color. It will look good caramel, ivory, delicate light green in color. If you create a harmonic composition, sustain the finish in different saturation shades of the same color.
Comfortable furniture
The winter garden is designed as a resting place, so you need to place comfortable furniture in it. Best of all fit soft corners - a sofa and a pair of chairs. Select them in accordance with the general style of the room and its color. Wooden chairs with soft seats, a coffee table with a glass tabletop and footstools will be appropriate.
Important! In order for exotic vases to feel comfortable, they need to ensure not only the temperature and regular watering, but also the lighting. If you live in the middle lane and in winter the daylight hours are significantly reduced, take care of installing additional lighting. Many flowerpots for comfortable growth is quite a few economical light bulbs.
Corner for care
To have all the tools at hand and not to allocate space for their storage in the apartment, take care of such a place in a natural corner. The ideal option would be a sink and a table with tool boxes. For those who do not have a large area, it will be enough to take a small box for blades, secateurs and other equipment for transplanting, feeding and watering.
Popular styles and materials for decorating the winter garden
To decorate the garden, use natural materials such as stone, wood and metal. They are profitable, expensive even in futuristic-style gardens and very convenient to maintain.
The issue of repair always sounds very exciting, and if you yourself also want to perform all the required activities, then it will be useful for you to know how to remove paint from the walls, how to wash the whitewash, how to glue the wallpaper, how to hold the plumbing in a private house, how to put an outlet air conditioner, how to make a plasterboard partition with a doorway, how to put a light switch, how to install a flow-through water heater, how to sheathe walls with drywall.
Winter Garden Classic
Winter gardens take their beginning in medieval Europe, therefore the English style is considered to be classical. It is practical and luxurious at the same time. It is cozy to be, thanks to the large windows with colored glass or stained glass. It is spacious, full of light. As a floor covering used carpets with classic patterns.
Heated floors are welcome. The color scheme of the English garden is always bright. Lemon, cream, green shades are found in the color of the walls and upholstery of upholstered furniture. Tea table - an essential element of the interior.
We recommend to read about how to decorate the house, office and Christmas tree for the New Year.
Art Nouveau style
It is characterized by conciseness, expressiveness of lines, neutral color range. Plants are selected mostly unusual, with a non-standard form of leaves or stem.
In such compositions found refined thuya and cypress, dwarf willow.
Wild spiky irises and climbing plants add bright color accents and smooth lines. The decoration used stone and metal. The flooring is made of stone, the walls are painted in Scandinavian white.
Winter garden in country style
Rustic style requires remarkable patience in the arrangement, as a cozy, comfortable country easily turns into a tasteless cottage. Walls and floors are made with natural materials. No siding and decorative bricks. Allowed wooden beam, aged building bricks.
Did you know? For the first time, a greenhouse and living rooms were combined into a solid room at the beginning of the XX century. American architect Frank Wright developed the concept of overflowing rooms, in which the winter garden “acquired” a separate roof, but was not divided into a living room. This layout was suitable for country-style gardens and French gardens. Tropical plants in residential conditions contain was impossible.
Exotic does not fit, pick up plants characteristic of the middle climatic strip. Install massive wooden furniture, pick up thin wicker paths.
Futuristic winter garden
An important focus is on the finish. Glass, plastic, aluminum - these are materials for a futuristic interior. Leave the metal air ducts, pipes, beams open, they will give the interior an industrial note. Make spectacular, bright color accents on furniture, abstract sculptures and glazed paintings.
Tropical plants are welcome, as are large succulents. For a futuristic natural corner, stop picking on aloe, cacti, buy a medium sized monster.
Japanese winter garden
There are three types of such gardens. First type characterized by naturalness and proximity to natural landscapes. Second different minimalism - made of stones, moss and is used for meditation and relaxation of the soul. Third - assumes the presence of a reservoir and traditional dwarf trees.
It is accepted to take food only in the first, natural, therefore at home it is most often settled with him. Dwarf pines, willows, bamboo, evergreen shrubs - this is your choice of plants. For the rest, install a few simple benches, organize a shed. You can put some decorative pillows with traditional Japanese patterns. Select a palette of colors, pastel. Suitable shades of green, white and blue.
Important! Observe moderation in gardening. It is better to install three or four healthy beautiful vases and properly care for them than to place a luxurious flower garden in summer and deal with pots, full of withered stems.
French courtyard
French garden suggests the presence of murals on the walls. It can be painted windows with shutters, street lamps, arches. Decorative brick is used for finishing, the floor is covered with laminate, and heating is installed. Be sure to put pots with small flowers, hung pots with climbing plants. The color scheme is white-pink, cream, without bright accents. Tall plants are absent, too exotic.
Beautifully in the French courtyard look lavender, heather. An elegant table is installed, wicker chairs with cotton pillows, slightly sloppy cotton curtains are hung.
Did you know? At the beginning of the XVII century in England began to build "Pomerantsev houses". They were used for breeding oranges - bitter oranges, from which they made an amazing fragrant jam. Later, these industrial greenhouses were transformed into greenhouses for walks and cultural pastime of the citizens of Albion.
Features of the design of a winter garden in a private house and apartment
Metal plastic bags made possible the arrangement of a budget home garden. If he enters the general interior of the house and there is no separate room for him, then the costs and requirements for it will be minimal. If you equip an extension, you will have to take into account the slope of the roof, the direction of the walls, the illumination of the garden in summer and winter, the stability of the glass frame to weather conditions.
For a garden in a private house, you will need a separate ventilation system, a warm floor and, if possible, hermetic doors separating the living quarters from a corner of nature.
You will be interested to read how to dry oranges or lemons for home decor.
Basic gardening mistakes
- Loose design. If you think that to arrange a garden is enough to put together tropical plants, then you are mistaken. It is necessary to observe the harmony of their placement in levels, pushing the highest to the far plan. Cover auxiliary facilities climbing plants and creeping plants, low flowers. Use floral motifs in the decoration of walls, flooring and furniture upholstery.
- Lack of water source. Tropical plants create a wet microclimate by themselves, giving away a large amount of moisture through the leaves. But the room must be a source of natural moisture. It can be an aquarium, a small fountain, a pond or a pool.
Important! High humidity often leads to uncontrolled corrosion of metals and damage to painted surfaces. To avoid this, take care of a high-quality ventilation system and do not save on finishing materials.
- Monotonous plants. The natural diversity of tropical cultures requires repeating them in the interior. Be sure to combine different types of pot. Place plants with wide and sharp foliage next to them, plants with different trunks and a crown pattern.
- Same levels. Take care to complete the upper, middle and lower tiers. Get a medium-sized tree, medium-sized shrubs and small flowers that will cover the floor to the floor. Climbing plants suspended from the ceiling will fill the space between the top and the largest plants.
- Vases at the windows. If you place them close to the source of light, then all the leaves will turn out from the room to the window. Do the opposite - arrange the plants in levels along the walls and in the center of the garden, and place a bench or chairs by the window to enjoy the view of the green room and the street outside.
Winter Garden - A great addition to both a country house and a city apartment. It requires special care, but these efforts are more than paying for with a surprisingly lively and pleasant interior, which relieves stress and allows you to fully relax. To organize a harmonious corner of nature, you need to adhere to basic recommendations. Soak up the garden in one style, invest in beautiful healthy plants, properly care for them, and then the winter garden will delight you year after year.