NYBG Conservatory - Deserts of America and Africa

In the first installment of our tour of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in New York Botanical Garden we featured their collection of rainforest and aquatic plants. Now in the second installment we'll be featuring their collection of succulents, xerophytic, and drought tolerant plants as seen in the sections Deserts of the America and Deserts of Africa.  It was overcast outside whilst we...

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The Big Pond Build (Part 4)

We have had several reminders to complete the story of our pond build, particulary since it has been completed since Spring. We had planned to complete the story and share the big reveal in the summer, but with the fire that hit the garden and also house renovations we did not feel it would have been the correct time to have done that. Thankfully the pond was not damaged with the fire, other than...

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Favourite Plant of the Week - Schefflera aff. chapana

Year in year out, every autumn it rewards us with generous sprays of flowers and consequently loads of seeds. Although the flowers in itself are rather nondescript, much like the blooms you see typical of other araliads and the related hedera (although if flowering en-masse they could look good), the abundance of seeds that follow are very impressive. Schefflera aff. chapana Now if only we...

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The Naked Jungle Hut

The Jungle Hut was completed last weekend much to our delight! And just in time too before the first serious frost and cold spell set in this week. The Jungle Hut - completed and naked! The roof is now nicely clad with cedar shingles. The electrical supply has been restored and new plug points and lighting are now in place and working fine. The tongue and groove cladding for the ceiling have...

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Foliage Follow-Up November 2013

We missed out on the Bloomday meme this month and our Foliage Follow-Up (which technically makes it a no follow-up as it didn't have anything before it to follow...) is perhaps a few days late but as they say better late than never! Euphorbia stygiana glistening with morning dew. All photos on this post were taken on a particularly misty and dewy early last Saturday morning. The tricky thing...

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Welcome to The Jungle (Hut)

With the weather forecast showing some cold weather on its way next week it was great that the builders finished the new Jungle Hut this week. I'll write a dedicated post on the finished building in the next few days. Today, however, was the perfect opportunity to move a number of plants under cover, so that they are all tucked up before the cold comes. The old jungle hut always was home to plants...

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...And Then We Turned Three

We started the Alternative Eden blog three years ago today, with this short post. At that time we didn't know how this blog would develop or whether anyone would want to read about our garden and travels. Trochodendron aralioides from our first post However three years later and having met some wonderful people through blogging (some in real life as well as on line) and having had some...

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Favourite Plant of the Week - Cycas revoluta

Okay, just this one in particular... Cycas revoluta It spent most of the summer under glass after being defoliated when it was left outside last winter. We initially thought it was dead after all of our Cycas revolutas have flushed already when this one haven't yet. But knowing that this cycad can be erratic when it comes to the timing of its flush (ideally it should flush early in the summer...

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NYBG Conservatory - Rainforest and Aquatic Plants

We finally had the chance to start sorting out the photos we took of our visit to New York Botanical Gardens last September and one of the highlights of which was our wander through the different sections of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. This conservatory, a major landmark and considered to be the crown jewel of New York City houses the tender plant collection of the botanical gardens. The...

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Greenhouse Preparation

With winter fast approaching we needed to get the new greenhouse ready for its winter inhabitants. Normally we have prepared the garden for winter prior to now, but this year with builders, and our attention focussing on the house we had out it off until the last minute.  As it was this morning This Cycas revoluta spent the summer in the greenhouse, we actually thought it was...

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Favourite Plant of the Week - Amicia zygomeris

Every time I wander down the garden this week I keep catching a glimpse of this plant and on closer inspection today I thought, wow, it has done really well this year... Amicia zygomeris Despite being razed down to nothing by flames last summer. It has proven itself to be a very resilient, tough, and rewarding plant for us and deserves to be highlighted this week! It is a hardy, herbaceous...

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The Scent of Cedar

When you have a heavy cold any wonderful scent that manage to pass through your clogged nostrils is a welcome treat, and that scent must be very powerful to do so. And such was the scent of cedar. Being all arty with cedar shingles! I didn't even need to be right next to it, it was wafting in the air and you get a whiff of it the moment you open the patio doors. The cedar shingles for the...

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The Chosen Ones - First Batch

Choosing plants to go in the conservatory feels like being a judge in a beauty pageant! You have to select the most beautiful amongst the already beautiful lot (well most of them anyway). But apart from beauty other criteria must be fulfilled such as: So who are the lucky ones that will wear a crown (or in this case a Bishop's Cap)? Tolerates conservatory conditions at least during the winter...

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The Spark

I had a quick walk around the garden yesterday and I heard the sound of sparks somewhere.... But where? I couldn't see any nor could smell anything that would indicate combustion caused by sparks.... Like nothing happened eh? I was just being playful with myself (or perhaps I am now losing my mind?). The sparks I heard were figurative sparks. Now that the house renovation is calming...

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