Cold Frame – Solarium
“The Solarium or Cold Frame corresponds to the vaporarium on the south side. These windows face westwards, and beneath them are shelves of gradually increasing height, on which pots of the most varied plants may be placed. By being thus placed, and by being warm, they mature faster and are protected, particularly at night, from the devastation of cold and storms. The solarium’s height is 3 1/2 ells.”
Carl Linnaeus, Hortus Upsaliensis 1745
Solarium was a cold frame two metres high, i. e. it was warmed exclusively by the sun’s rays. More sensitive plants were kept there in pots, protected from bad weather and night frosts. Plants from the orangery’s Tepidarium, such as bulbs and geraniums from South Africa and various succulents, were also kept in the solarium in the summer.