Meet Our Community: Mark Domingo & Neil “Gaz” Jones, creators of an alternative eden

 

Mark and Neil

Let's get to know each other!

Since we're not able to meet up in person this year, let's meet online. Every week we're introducing a member* of our Fling community here and on Instagram, in their own words. We're excited to see what everyone's talking about and sharing with their followers!

(*Any garden blogger, vlogger, podcaster, or Instagrammer who follows our Instagram or is a member of our Facebook group. If you'd like to be considered or recommend someone for a Meet Our Community profile, email us.)

Mark Domingo & Neil "Gaz" Jones

Exotic plants fill our garden at our 1930s townhouse in Luton, Bedfordshire U.K. We love big leaves, tropical-looking plants, succulents, yuccas, bamboos, and palms, and are always hunting for unusual plants that create a jungle feel. 

Schefflera rhododendrifolia is our favorite plant at the moment. It looks like it shouldn’t grow in our location, but it has been tough, surviving -10 C (14 F) in the infamous U.K. winter of 2010. We grow two forms and love both. 

We love to travel and enjoy visiting public and private gardens on our trips. Two gardens jump to mind as favorites. Tregrehan, a Cornish garden owned by Tom Hudson, is a classic Cornish valley garden that’s full of amazing and unusual plants. The other is Sean Hogan’s old garden in Portland, Oregon. It wasn't a huge garden, but it was packed full of character and felt very enclosed. 

We blog about our garden and our travels at Alternative Eden. You can also find us on Facebook. 

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Thanks for sharing your work and your gardening passions with us, Mark and Gaz! 

Photographs courtesy of Mark Domingo and Neil Jones.