A large three-storey high hothouse forms the south wing of Cherrypond Mansion. With the exception of a few low walls used to provide a foundation for the supports built for climbing plants, every part of the hothouse's walls and domed roof is windowed with large panes of glass.

Two outside doors lead into the hothouse. Both doors are framed by a pair of stone columns carved to resemble two nymphs and two satyrs respectively, over which chiselled to vines crawling up, with leaves and large flowers placed strategically to prevent overt immodesty. Finally, a well-built double door leads directly from the hothouse to the ground floor parlour of Cherrypond Mansion. This door remains locked while the hothouse is open to the public.

As per tradition, the hothouse is open to the public on days that Kew Gardens is open to the public, this tradition is detailed on the Cherrypond Mansion page.

Plants & Layout

Inside the hothouse one can find a neatly paved path tiled with awkwardly, but smooth, stones. Flowering tropical form the undergrowth, with a small pond overlooked by a two-person garden bench housing Indian lotus. The pond's irregular shape is meant to emulate a stream entering and leaving the pond, which means that the water surface extends well beyond the pond area, which helps maintain the humidity of the greenhouse. Several larger tropical plants are placed to make the hothouse seem larger than it is, which incidentally also offers some privacy to visitors.

Three trees are present in the hothouse, each one an exemplary specimen. One from the jungles of Africa, and one two the Indian colonies. These trees form the basis for several other plants present, with one living in symbiosis with a large tangle of vines that produce sweet-smelling silky pink flowers every spring.

Boiler Room

The back of the hothouse connects to a smaller building only reachable via the outside, which contains several water tanks, a large boiler, and a series of levers and gauges that control and measure the temperature of the tanks and the flow of warm water through the heating system, as well as the humidification channels to which hot water can be flushed to humidify the hothouse when needed.

One corner of the boiler building has a pile of coal, covered with a tarp, and with a large weighing scale and several buckets, a shovel and and some scoops, as well as a large broom. This building, is the domain of Mr. Purcell, the hothouse engineer, who answers directly to lady Gallorett's head gardener, Mr. Riddington.