With the hit show on PBS called Victoria (Queen Victoria of England), Victorian style is receiving a renewed interest now in our homes and landscaping. The Victorians were the first house plant enthusiasts, but their plants had to be hardy and the range of species grown was small. This was due to the mainly unfavorable conditions found in the typical Victorian home.
Rooms were often dark and decorated in deep colors with heavy furnishings. Fumes from the gas lights, tobacco smoke, draughts, cool winter conditions and extreme changes of temperature in rooms which had only coal or wood fires, all combined to make an unsuitable environment for the plants we are able to grow today.
In these surroundings only the most tolerant plants, such as the Aspidistra, the Cast-Iron Plant, the Parlor Palm and the Kentia Palm, and Ivies, which thrive in low light and dislike too much heat, or a range of ferns under glass could survive the conditions imposed on them.
Nevertheless, the Victorians valued their house plants and they were often displayed in pride of place in a bay window, the center of a table or on a tall plant stand in a prominent position. They took to plant containers with enthusiasm, too, and many ornate brass, china and glazed earthenware pots can still be seen in homes today.
Plants were transported from the Far East and Australia to Britain in large sealed glass cases, lashed to the deck. Known as Wardian cases, they provided the humid conditions ideal for many plants, particularly ferns, and gave protection from drafts, cold and fumes. This contributed greatly to the Victorians’ craze for ferns.
Reproduction
Copies of old Victorian china howls and jugs and planters are easily found. Choose colors to complement your living room or bedroom décor and use Maidenhair Fern or Parlor Palm plants to add an authentic touch.
Jardinieres have become popular again and there are various reproductions available. Choose from ceramic flower and plant shapes, figures that hold the pot aloft or even fish that cradle a bowl in their tail. Less expensive are plain or paint-effect plastic pots on columns which display ferns well.
Original
Antique shops, junk shops and market stalls can still supply a vast range of Victorian items. Old brass jam kettles and pans make ideal plant containers and a collection of old biscuit tins can effectively display smaller ferns and young palms.
Plants: Ferns, Palms, Aspidistras were displayed on stands. Palms were placed in large, decorative pots on the floor and Wardian cases of plants became popular. Gardeners of the rich grew exotic fruit, trees and Orchids often grouped together.
