Clippings
A Weekly Column about Plants, Gardens, & Yards
Margaret Murphy • ISU Extension Horticulture Educator • Lyon-O’Brien-Osceola-Sioux Counties
For the Week of January 14, 2013
History of the Modern ‘Glass House’
By: Christina Lloyd, ISU Extension and Outreach Agriculture and Natural Resource Intern
Gardeners and producers have been using modern greenhouses to grow vegetables, fruit, household
plants and flowers out of season for many years, and because technological advances have made it a science,
greenhouses have become one of the fundamental tools in growing decorative plants and produce early or
out of season. For this particular reason producers have been able to meet the demand for these types of
plants while also being able to make a significant impact on their ability to feed the growing population.
Today’s greenhouses can range in size and shape from the backyard hobby greenhouse to the large full
production commercial greenhouse. In most cases, the houses are made of either plastic or glass, are powered
by electricity and serve similar purposes. However, this wasn’t always the case. Greenhouse origin, much like
most of modern agriculture, can be traced back to 8,000 to 4,000 BC, when the foundational agricultural
concepts and ideas of what would eventually necessitate the use of the greenhouse and other forms of
agriculture began to form. It was at this time when people began to move away from early nomadic traditions
and into early agriculture. This eventually lead to Plato’s idea of protected cultivation around 427 and 347 BC
and then into the first physical manifestation of a greenhouse between 42 BC and 37 AD under the rule of
Tiberius the emperor of Italy.
This first form of a greenhouse was called a ‘Specularium’ and was commissioned by Tiberius for the
use of growing cucumbers. Because the invention of glass wasn’t until after this time the structure was glazed
with thousands of translucent sheets of mica instead. This was in itself a very long and meticulous process.
Nevertheless, this set the ground work for more modern greenhouses that were to follow. Many of which
were built in the 13th century to house tropical plants brought back from early travels and explorations. These
houses were often named botanical gardens.
The concept of the greenhouse spread rapidly throughout Europe and in 1599 a French botanist, Jules
Charles, created the first practical glass greenhouse. These houses were used mainly to house trees and as
such were called ‘Orangeries’. This glass design spread rapidly and with the advancements in technology the
greenhouse continued to develop on into the 17th and 18th centuries. Hitting their ‘golden era’ in London
during the Victorian era as the wealthy began to compete against one another for the best greenhouse.
Obviously greenhouse development didn’t stop in Victorian England but has continued until today.
When the green house was first created there wasn’t a lighting system however over time we have developed
it enough to provide all natural light as well as artificial light. In addition, greenhouse heating systems have
gone from the use of dung furrows, coal pans, stoves, ovens and boilers to mostly electric and solar powered
heating that does a better job of heat distribution. Also greenhouses didn’t have a ventilation system beyond a
shutter or window before modernization, however, now greenhouses can be electrically ventilated. All of this
has allowed the use of the greenhouse to transform from a means of shelter, hibernation and acceleration and
forcing to a means of year round culturing, which has allowed for the increased application and use of the
greenhouse to almost all plant life.
Today you can find many different styles of greenhouse some more complicated than others and some
more elaborate; however, it all comes down to its use whether for small personal use like a window
greenhouse or for large commercial purposes, they all function in the same general way. For more information
on greenhouses and how you can create your own and for any questions, please feel free to contact me at my
email clloyd@iastate.edu, by phone at (712) 737-4230 or through your local County Extension office.
Additional information was provided by Kansas State University KSU Gardens webpage article History of
Greenhouses (accessed January 2013), the Extension Online Campus article History of Greenhouses (accessed
January 2013), and the White Cottage Greenhouses article History of Greenhouses (2012). For additional
information, the Cooperative Extension Service University of Maryland’s article Planning a Home Greenhouse
and Colorado State University’s power point presentation Greenhouse Structures are two really good sources
for learning more about the types of greenhouse structures and the considerations that you should make in
creating your own.
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