Greenhouses have come a long way since the wealthy Europeans and Americans used them to grow oranges and pineapples in glass structures known as orangeries and pineries. These structures became status symbols as well as a practical way to grow fruits, vegetables and exotic plants. One of the earliest known greenhouses was built around 30 A.D. for the Roman emperor Tiberius. Remember glass had not been invented so the "Specularium" was  painstakingly fabricated from tiny translucent sheets of mica. All this was done to satisfy Tiberius's cravings for cucumbers out of season. It wasn't until 1599 that the first practical greenhouse was designed by Jules Charles a French botanist. It was built in (where else) Leiden Holland and used primarily to grow medicinal tropical plants. One of the favorite plants of the day came from the Tamarind (an Indian date) whose fruit was made into a curative drink.The idea caught on and greenhouses began spreading throughout Europe. The French, who had a love of a new fruit, the orange, began building orangeries to protect the trees from frost. These structures were cumbersome. One structure built by Soloman de Caus in 1619 in Heidelburg which held 340 orange trees. It had a removable roof that had to be painstakingly put up and taken down during the frost season.

Experimenting with angled glass walls and heating flues to improve the efficiency of greenhouses went on throughout the 17th century. New technologies and improved glass led to larger and more elaborate structures that housed plants simply to please the eyes and palates of  the European aristocracy. The palace of Versailles was an example of the elaborate efforts of the royalty to build bigger and more spectacular orangeries. The Versailles orangery was more than 500 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had a southern exposure for light and heat. Despite the elaborateness of these structures, it was the Victorian age in England that ushered in the golden era of the greenhouse. By the end of the mid nineteenth century glass was plentiful and the prohibitive taxes were repealed. The wealthy began competing with each other to build the most elaborate greenhouse, again primarily just to grow citrus fruits and rare flowers. Little thought was given to using the greenhouse for a complete range of food production. The soaring conservatory at Kew Gardens in England is a prime example of the Victorian greenhouse. There is a replica in San Fransisco's Golden Gate Park called the Conservatory of Flowers.

In America the first greenhouse on record was built around 1737 by Andrew Faneuil, a wealthy Boston merchant. Like his European  predecessors, Faneuil used it primarily to grow fruit. The concept spread slowly, since almost all greenhouses were built for the wealthy. George Washington, perhaps the richest man in America, craved pineapples and ordered a pinery built at Mt. Vernon so he could serve pineapples to his guests. By 1825, greenhouses were becoming increasingly common. Many of the greenhouses were heated by furnace warmed air; some were pit greenhouses built into the earth and heated largely by south facing windows. This is a design that remains highly practical today.
Indeed the modern concept of the greenhouse is simple and practical. No longer is it the private domain of the monied class but something anyone interested in gardening can have for relatively little cost. Today a greenhouse can go virtually anywhere there is space; it can be attached to a house, placed in a backyard or perched on a deck, roof or balcony. In addition greenhouses are becoming more automated, reducing the time and care owners much spend. With new materials available today such as aluminum, pvc piping, fiberglass, acrylic, and polycarbonate panels as well as pressure treated wood  ensures the consumer that their greenhouse will stand the test of time. Long gone are the days of shattered glass and overheated/under heated greenhouses.