Vaucluse House Plant Stand

Vaucluse House Plant Stand

12 December 2016 Ian Innes, Former Director, Capital Programs

The wire work plant stand on the Vaucluse House verandah is filled with Victorian-era house plants in hand-thrown pots. Photo Steven Halliday © Sydney Living Museums

In a sheltered corner of the verandah at Vaucluse House, a selection of choice Victorian-era house plants are displayed on this splendid four-tiered woven-wire étagère or plant stand.

Thought to date from about 1850, the plant stand was made in England and reflects the increasing range of consumer goods becoming available as a result of industrialisation. The plant stand features elaborate decoration, with pointed arches, scrolls and fans all made from wire applied to a wrought-iron frame.

These popular plant stands allowed tender plants that might not be able to be grown in the open garden to be cultivated and displayed close to the house. In Sydney with its warm humid climate, favourite subjects included achimenes, begonias, various bromeliads (such as the Vriesia philips-coburghii in the photo), fuchsias, succulents and orchids. If water was scarce these plants might be cared for more lovingly with additional water splashed around to keep them looking at their best.

Plant stand detail.jpg

Wire work detail and clay pot with saucer. Photo © Sydney Living Museums

For authenticity we use old-fashioned clay pots of a type known as ‘Long Toms’ that were made in England from at least the middle of the 18th century onwards. Their main drawback is that they dry out very quickly and draw moisture out of the potting mixture, so you have to pay attention to regular watering, otherwise the plants can become water-stressed very quickly. Clay pots filled with soil are also much heavier than modern plastic pots.

As well as allowing a visually pleasing display of foliage and flowers, the open wire plant stand allows plenty of light to reach all parts to promote strong plant growth and also ensures good air circulation that prevents mildew and fungal diseases.

Jack in the hammock, Taree c1890-1900. Photographer R Conroy. Pictures Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection

Dr Charles Louis Gabriel on the verandah in Gundagai, Gundagai photograph collection, 1887-1927, National Library of Australia, nla.obj-139665856.

Side verandah of the Bank of Australasia bank manager's residence, Melton Hill, Townsville, around 1895 Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection © Sydney Living Museums

A shady verandah has long been a favourite spot to grow and display fancy foliage plants, as you can see in these three late 19th-century photographs of homes in Gundagai, Taree and Townsville. Wirework plant stands of a simpler form than the Vaucluse House example can be seen at the Gundagai and Taree houses; while at the bank manager’s house in Melton Hill, Townsville, tropical foliage plants like Caladiums, Dieffenbachia, Hoyas and Blechnum ferns are arranged on stout timber staging out of the heat and bright sun of the tropics.

About the author

Ian Innes

Former Director, Capital Programs

Ian is passionate about the conservation and sustainable management of buildings, parks, gardens, and cultural collections - and is fortunate to work with other skilled and dedicated professionals at some of the most important historic places in NSW.

Previous

Garden Renovations at Meroogal

Back

Resurfacing the Gravel Paths at Vaucluse House

Next