Castle and Gardens of Freÿr / Meuse (Belgium)

Orange trees wintering for six months

• Until 1976, the orangeries were heated with coke stoves, which maintained from 6 to 7 degrees C. During the war, the coke rations were used for the orange trees; the inhabitants had to be content with green wood.
• Upon the departure of the last gardener, new solutions had to be found. An automatic heating system fed through a gas tank had to be dropped after the oil crisis which occurred little afterwards.
• The chief-gardener of Versailles was consulted: "Here, we do not heat the orangeries". A light solution was chosen in Freÿr: auxiliary electric radiators.
• Hardly installed, the temperature fell outside to -20 degrees C. during 4 weeks while it remained inside the orangeries around 1 degree C.
• Such cold did not occur anymore due to the global warming.