Often present in the Walled Garden or near glasshouses in a sunny part of the garden, Victorian and Edwardian gardeners used Cold Frames to help propagate and grow vegetables or fruit. Built in brick or wood with a hinged top opening covered with glass the enabled the kitchen gardener to extend the growing season and grow more exotic fruit and vegetables in the cooler summers of the British Isles.
When combined with the use of Hot Beds to introduce even more heat from decaying compost layered under the beds the results were impressive. The need to extend the growing season was imperative in the days before imports of fresh fruit and vegetables from warmer climates out of season where the kitchen garden supplied the house with a wide array of produce.