If you’re hankering to get out for a bit of lush greenery and a good blast of warm air, get thee to a glasshouse.
Glasshouses arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries as explorers began to bring back tropical plants. Of course, it was the Victorians who brought them to the middle-class masses, with their distinctive architecture, which you can still admire today in the palm houses of botanic gardens such as Kew and Belfast.
Dress for the environment with layers you can remove in the heat and take a bottle of water, too. If you want to make a day of it, modern versions, like the Eden Project, let you lose yourself in steamy walkways for hours. Smaller ones, like Sheffield’s Winter Garden, allow you to pop in from the grey February streets for a blast of tropical warmth.
You might see bananas, bromeliads and palms. Darwin’s Down House in Kent is home to a magnificent collection of carnivorous Sundews. Maybe you’ll be inspired to build your own small glasshouse or tiny terrarium when you get home.
This outing idea is taken from our February Almanac pages where we offer ideas for things to note and notice, plan and do each month.
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