I find myself curiously drawn towards greenhouses, lured within by the exotic species and tantalising heat. Let me define my peaked interest in the greenhouse, I’m not talking about one you may find squirrelled away in the depths of the garden but more the grandeur of the Victorian era. These elaborately designed structures became much celebrated pieces by the wealthy upper classes and botanists alike. Last year I visited Chatsworth and its just how you imagine it to be, a grand building surrounded by the sprawling Derbyshire Dales as far as the eye can see; but its the gardens that are the real treat. I could spend hours wandering and getting lost down secret passages and tree lined avenues. Unfortunately the original greenhouse designed by Joseph Paxton in 1837 no longer exists (at the time it was the largest glass building in the world!) being demolished after the 1st World War, due to heating costs. Its a great shame that such a structure was lost, replaced by its much more modern counterpart in which I took these tropical looking species.
Laura Howell 
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