Art, sustainability and surfing

Don't forget Eden's Arts Cafe tonight (Friday 7 - 12.30am) with topical talks on art, sustainability and surfing and toptastic tunes from DJ Griff (Jelly Jazz).

We've Cornish Mussels with Chilli and Coriander from the garden, salads and sweet treats, Pimms, Summer Punch, Ale and Beer on tap.

See you there.

Eden team on a high after fundraising expedition

Here's some of our team celebrating after raising more than £2 000 for children affected by the Chernobyl disaster by successfully completing the Three Peaks Challenge.

The expedition, one of many fundraising events which Eden holds in conjunction with Cornwall County Fire Brigade to raise money for the charity Chernobyl Children’s Life Line, is a gruelling trek up the three highest peaks in the UK.

Overall it took the team just two days to complete the feat and they raised more than twice their initial target. The group of nine Eden employees climbed to the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland, the highest mountain of the three, before travelling down to Cumbria to tackle Scafell Pike. Over three days the team travelled more than 2800 miles and climbed to a combined altitude of more than 4000 metres. Discounting travel time, they took just 15 hours to climb all three peaks.

Jo Hicks from the Chernobyl Children’s Life Line described the money as “an amazing contribution which will make such a massive difference to the lives of the children. This donation will pay for around eight children to spend a month in Cornwall, extending their life expectancy by two years each.”

Well done to the Eden staff that completed the challenge: Jason Abbott, Dave Diaper, Ben Freight, Chris Hastings Snr, Chris Hastings Jnr, Joe Ludlow, Andy Manley, Dan Neave, Chris Stephenson with Bob Alderson driving.

Titum arum is flowering now!

A giant specimen of the world's biggest, smelliest flower burst into bloom last night at Eden.

The extremely rare Titan arum, known as the corpse flower due to its revolting smell, is wowing visitors in the sultry depths of the Malaysia area in Eden's Rainforest Biome - the biggest greenhouse in the world.

Astonishingly, this is the fourth time skilled horticulturist Tim Grigg of the Eden Green Team has nurtured a titan to flower. At a whopping 212cm, it's the second biggest example of the plant he has grown (the biggest was 216cm). Tim expects it'll last two or three days before wilting.

Tim said: "I’m delighted this titan has flowered so spectacularly. As soon as I walked into the Rainforest Biome last night I could smell it a mile off - its rotting flesh-like whiff is really distinctive. Also, I was quite surprised when it opened at 9.30pm as this is the first of our titans to flower late in the evening."

The plant - real name Amorphophallus titanum - hails from Sumatra. Tim Grigg has been growing titans at Eden's Watering Lane nursery for nine years from a batch of seeds donated by Bonn Botanical Garden in Germany.

Watch it flower live on Eden's webcam - but come and see (and smell) it for real if you can!

Practical Gardening

Eden is offering an exciting new course in Practical Gardening in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The course will be led by members of our lovely, highly-skilled horticultural team and covers all aspects of practical gardening, including understanding plants, soils and composts, planting and potting, plant care and maintenance, seed and vegetative propagation and plant health.

Candidates will be awarded the recognised joint Certificate in Practical Horticulture on the successful completion of the course.