I've been receiving quite a few requests from people asking how we constructed our backyard tropical rain forest in Arkansas. One group of people who've been writing regularly have now organized a group to talk about how they will build their own rain forest atrium including the pitfalls. If you're interested in knowing how to build one, or would like to communicate with the man who is organizing the discussion group, drop me a private note and I'll gladly give you his email address. Many have asked us how we designed and built our "Exotic Rainforest" so there is now an article on the net describing the materials used and just how we built our own. If you're interested in learning how, here's the link: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Build your own tropical rainforest.html You just can't imagine how much joy it brings to step out your kitchen door into the warmth and beauty of a rain forest when its 20 degrees F outside (that's cold for you guys in Europe) and there is snow on the ground. I think I'll go talk to our macaw now.
Nice one mate!! I guess I take it for granted walking out the back door into my partially finished sub tropical rainforest. The canopy is about a third complete, I just have to wait for the palms to grow. What happens when you acquire more plants, do you just keep finding more spots in the atrium? Have you got a photo of your Australian parrot for a fellow Aussie, please Ed
That one is a major problem. Right now a lot of them are enjoying the outdoor world. But in about 40 days or so everyone has to move back into the atrium. When that happens it becomes quite crowded. Plants are hanging and sitting everywhere. We've begun to hang a lot of plants from the rafters in coconut lined baskets or orchid baskets and that work well for the artificial look of a real rain forest. When you traverse the building you are constantly beneath rare species, some quite large, just like you'd see them as epiphytes in the rain forest. Next year we plan to put this house up for sale, (it's 117 years old and very well maintained) and move closer to our grown children. When that happens I'll build one twice this size, much larger pond and waterfall, a "wet wall" for epiphytic plants to climb, and much more space. I've learned a lot with this "experiment" and want to improve on what I've learned. So if you want to move to Arkansas and still own a rain forest, there's one already built! The rarest plants will go, but almost everything that is in the ground will stay. I'll just take starts. Hope this article was helpful. Here's what you see when you go out the kitchen door.
Can I ask is this a closed system, water wise or do you have to keep bringing in outside water to maintain the rainforest effect. I am trying something along the rain forest line but I use the cool temperate ferns and the bromilades I have grown to quiet like. I have a monsteria (sp) and a huge birdsnest that are providing some drama. Over the whole thing is a birch up on the bank and 2 tree ferns that grew on their own. At the bottom of the bank is the remains of a stump hole that I have made into a pond. My next project is to see if I can somehow get a large urn I have to sit sideways on the bank spilling water down into the pond using the water from the pond to circulate. I have numerous ferns that grow localy and a small bog garden to one side with reed plants. Liz
Hi Liz, I guess you could call it a "semi-closed" system". The building is capable of being sealed to keep in the heat during the cold of winter. It has dropped to as low as 8 degrees F in the years since we built the entire thing. But that is rare. The "skin" of the building is GE Lexan Thermoclear™ which offers extreme thermal protection while being clear. There is a large pond in the center of the room with a waterfall and that water motion provides high humidity to the entire system. The average humidity is 85% or higher. As you likely know, rain forest species thrive in high humidity. But we do have to provide water to the plants frequently. During the heat of the year I water almost daily exactly the way a rain forest would experience in South America or any tropical location. During the winter the plants require less water, so I cut the watering back to 3 days a week. The ideal situation is to have an overhead misting system installed on a timer. Several good mistings daily is best. I bought one but we never got that installed before the plants totally filled the building. So now I just take a little pleasure in being in there with a garden hose with a mister on the end. I just use the time to examine the plants for any possible problem. And problems are rare. If I get to build a new larger one I will definitely have the overhead system installed right up front. I basically studied how plants grow and receive water and nutrition in the jungle and do what I can to duplicate that effect. We did have to modify the soil dramatically before we began to plant. Otherwise, it would be a constant mud puddle in there. But since we turned the soil into fast draining "jungle soil" we have no problem at all. Temperature is controlled during the winter with a very small natural gas heater. And some days in winter we even have to open the vents to allow excess heat to escape. All of the "how-to" do it is described in the article I noted at the top. But I love to help people experience what we now experience all the time with our plants. So if something is not clear, feel free to ask.
