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 While today's designers are concentrating on the contemporary approach, using glass block walls and etched panels to define specific areas, the use of glass dates back many years. The earliest recorded glass vessels are Egyptian and date back to 1500BC. The Normans suffered in draughty castles with slits in the wall to let light in and smoke out, but it was the Romans who realised that this hard transparent material would be perfect to "glaze" these windows.However, for many centuries glass remained such an expensive commodity that only the very rich could afford to glaze whole windows as we know them today. But as technology advanced and thanks to the industrial revolution during the Victorian era, glass manufacture became easier, cheaper and more widespread. Modern manufacturing has literally changed the way we live and garden today. |
| Although it's heavy and fragile, glass allows through 90 per cent of the sun's radiation and retains heat well. Which brings us to its use as a structural element - in conservatories, greenhouses, cold frames and cloches. Without glass they just wouldn't exist. We wouldn't be able to grow half of what we do, and gardening would be very different. The conservatory and greenhouse provide a protected environment for growing early and exotic plants. Outside, cloches and cold frames are an effective way of warming the soil and giving seedlings a little extra protection from cold temperatures and drying winds. |
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 Few people who have travelled to north Africa and the Far East can have failed to marvel at the amazing mosaics that decorate religious buildings and royal palaces, courtyards and gardens. Intricate designs have been fashioned out of millions of tiny ceramic and glass tiles; each applied by hand with more than a little patience and an unquestionably skilled eye.And so the horticultural trail has gone full circle and we are once again using mosaic to decorate our gardens. The 'television designers' have revived interest in what can be a very therapeutic and rewarding pastime. Walls and paving can be given a new lease of life with a generous application of waterproof tile adhesive and the design of your choice. Add a few small mirrored insets and the effect can become quite magical. A new departure is the use of small clear, coloured, pearlised or mirrored beads. These give areas of mosaic a three-dimensional effect, catching and reflecting the natural light. They're also often scattered through cobbles to create a coloured glistening water feature. |
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