OAKLAND - There's more than greenery growing at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

Greenhouses themselves are rising from the earth and reaching for the sky.

"Our new greenhouse range will have 36,000-square-feet of plant production area that will supply the Phipps with flowers," said Karen Daubmann, director of horticulture.

A good deal of the plant material used in seasonal flower shows is bought and then, after the show, sold to the public at the conservatory.

The new greenhouses will be equipped with plenty of "bells and whistles," everything from a roof that opens to let in natural sunlight to shade curtains to lessen the sunshine and blankets that roll across the ceiling at night to keep the day's warmth tucked in.

The new greenhouse range will have 18 different climate zones to suit the needs of every plant.

"We'll have tempered water rather than what just comes out of the hose," said Daubmann.

Tempered water is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, just the way plants would order it, if they were asked.

A fertilizer system will be in place and rolling benches will make moving plant pots easier.

Although a few of the conservatory's old greenhouses are still standing, they'll soon be replaced. Plans are to have the new range open by September, said Daubmann.

"We'll fill it with plants right away, like orchids, bonsai and ferns and we'll always be growing stuff," she said.

Most likely, the first season flower show to display plants from the new greenhouse range will be the winter 2005 show. For the spring 2006 show, most of the flowers will have been grown in the new facility, said Daubmann.