Victorian conservatories, solariums and arboretums were, essentially, the forerunners of modern greenhouses. They were often decorative adjuncts to homes and estates, constructed either as lean-tos attached to a main house, or as free-standing garden units used for cultivation of flowers and kitchen herbs, as well as some vegetables. Even though early contemporary greenhouses were constructed initially to facilitate the growing of medicinal plants and herbs, some sort of greenhouse has been employed for centuries by cultures around the world.
Traditional greenhouses with glass walls and ceilings are still features of some older homes, and are still found throughout Europe and in some areas of the United States as prized features of estate properties. Orangeries were specialty conservatories built on large estates from the 17th to the 19th Centuries, and used to cultivate orange, lemon and other fruit trees during the winter. Other types of glass houses were built as pavilions for exhibitions and as showcase houses for specimen plants in botanical gardens. Other names used to connote a greenhouse throughout history include nursery, glasshouse, coolhouse, planthouse and potting shed. Gardening enthusiasts often employ small-scale greenhouses to propagate cuttings and to start seedlings that will later be transplanted to a backyard garden. Commercial greenhouses are typically employed to moderate the effects severe weather, to extend the growing season, and to cultivate varieties of plants that are not native to a specific region.
