A Floral Tribute: Botanika

I have a new love when it comes to buying plants.

As regular readers of this blog will know – especially those of you who followed the Banana Palm Saga, I yield to none in my admiration for Lilith and Dolly Heart, and the Heart Garden Centre. Truly, they are women who have built the better mouse trap; Heart Palm trees are ubiquitous in Second Life, and they haven’t rested on the laurels (yes, they do those too, I believe), but have gone on to build the most fabulous cypress trees, orange and lemon trees, and rose bowers to die for.

But they are a garden centre, and unless you really want to overwhelm your date (“Darling! I bought you a forest!”), probably would not be your first choice for individual flowers.

That is where Botanika in Pelican Bay comes in. This lovely store does offer trees and shrubs as well, but what particularly struck me when I visited where the individual options it offered, whether in flowers or services – such as its wide range of bridal material. In addition to the range on display, EmpressNever Rejected, the owner of Botanika, is happy to offer customised services for the bridal couple.

The range of flowers available is wide, and the detailing really lovely. I asked whether EmpressNever Rejected was using sculpties to achieve some of her stunning effects, but she told me at the moment she wasn’t entirely happy with some of the effects they have when viewed from a distance. Having seen some pretty nasty sculptie trees elsewhere on the grid (as well as some nice ones), I do see what she means.

One of the things that Botanika specialises in is rare and troical plants, and this must certainly make for one of the most unusual potential gifts in Second Life – a beautiful and uilly blooming corpse flower.

We have one in the Botanic Gardens, here is Oxford, of course, and great is the rejoicing when, every five years or so, it manages to bloom. Rejoicing from a safe distance, of course, as the stench given off by the corpse flower is pretty well unrivalled (and, indeed, gives the flower its unenviable name).

Apart from the smell, it is also famed for producing the largest single flower of any plant, and that can be seen to full advantage here in Botanika.

It is, perhaps, a little hard to imagine when precisely it would make a lovely gift (“Darling! I never promised you a rose garden … so here’s a corpse flower instead!”) but, while Sscond Life has no sense of smell, I think it might be finding a home on my new terrace.