National Trust Hidcote Greenhouse

Case Study

Hidcote in California

22 January 2018 | Daisy Faughnan

Garden Designer Sandy Freeman, of Sunflower Gardenscapes, looked to Alitex for a greenhouse of the very best design and quality for her own garden.

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National Trust Collection

Project Overview

Style

Hidcote

Dimensions

2.6m x 3m

Colour

Greensand (BS10 B23 -2)

It began in 2016 at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Sandy visited several stands displaying greenhouses, yet Alitex caught her attention and remained amongst the top contenders.

Sandy’s home is a state of California “Mills Act” historic home, meaning no exterior alterations can be made to the principal structure, such as adding a conservatory. With this in mind, the perfect place for the greenhouse was her koi pond courtyard.

There were still several implications before going ahead with the construction that we had to overcome, including floor area ratio limits and height limitations of adjacent structures.

Sandy qualified for the smallest structure, and the 3 metre height was approved by the city’s planning committee. The shape and style of the Hidcote fit into the koi pond courtyard as if it had been planned originally.

Other unique considerations we had to make were the limitations on water usage, which prevented installing irrigation inside, as well as seismic reinforcements for the floor and walls.

Greensand was chosen as the frame colour to blend in with the grove of Quercus agrifolia, California Live Oak, which acts as an umbrella over the residential area, and would complement the brick wainscot and koi pond surround.

National Trust Hidcote Greenhouse
National Trust Hidcote Greenhouse

The Colour

Greensand blended with the grove of Quercus agrifolia

National Trust Hidcote Greenhouse
National Trust Hidcote Greenhouse

The Size

The 3 metre height was approved by the city’s planning committee

National Trust Hidcote Greenhouse
National Trust Hidcote Greenhouse

Considerate Construction

Due to the Californian Mill’s Act, we added seismic reinforcements to the base and walls

The Alitex installation team were fabulous, they were the perfect English gentlemen and finished the job in two days!

Sandy Freeman, Garden Designer, Sunflower Gardenscapes

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