SMALL GARDEN IDEAS: GREENHEAD PARK CONSERVATORY, HUDDERSFIELD, WEST YORKSHIRE

Sunday 1 September 2013

GREENHEAD PARK CONSERVATORY, HUDDERSFIELD, WEST YORKSHIRE

I met with a friend from the Huddersfield area yesterday and we went to a local park. It's a lovely place with a paddling pool, huge herbaceous borders, a bandstand, a bowling green, and a whole lot more. What I loved the most was the huge 'greenhouse' or 'conservatory' which has been turned into one of the eating areas of the café there. I understand that, at one time, the conservatory just housed tropical plants and there were koi carp in a pond, but the fish are gone and the pond is now covered with a strong metal frame to prevent the younger and more inquisitive visitors from falling in. The floor is tiled and with that and the high ceiling, sound resonates somewhat and little voices can be quite ear-penetrating at times! In the café shop they sell lots of different types of cakes and various kinds of meals can be ordered. I think the local Kirklees authority have made good use of the park and the conservatory which still houses a number of palms and other more tender plants but I could not help but imagine what it might have been like if the conservatory were privately owned (by me, of course) with bananas, kiwis, figs, passion fruits and other tropical fruits growing there. It would be Heaven or Eden on Earth, I think.