It’s a jungle out there but that’s just the way I like it
MOST people use a greenhouse to grow a few vegetables and take care of their plants over the winter.
But Andrew Stephenson has gone for something rather more exotic – and recreated the jungles of Trinidad and Tobago in the giant glasshouse in his back garden.
Mr Stephenson, 50, fell in love with the island nation off the coast of South America and built his own tropical paradise version, which includes a 40ft river he can swim in.
The 625sq ft building, heated to 86f (30c), now houses a jungle worth £80,000.
In the 12 years since he built the giant tropical greenhouse, it has developed its own eco-system including an entire ant colony, lizards, giant spiders, praying mantis, frogs, birds, butterflies, bugs and 500 fish – most native to Trinidad.
He snorkels in a 7ft deep plunge pool and takes fiancée Asha Ramlal, 27, from Trinidad, for walks around the exotic landscape, which costs £6,000 a year to maintain.
When it comes to routine pruning, Mr Stephenson, from Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, faces an ordeal unlike any other greenhouse owner, involving swimming in the river and avoiding bites from the wildlife.
He said: ‘Trinidad is one of the most impressive countries in the world as it’s like a microcosm of the whole of South America.
‘You can see every type of landscape, from jungle to mountains to swamps, all on one island. So I thought why not create this on an even smaller scale – in Scotland.
‘Many of my neighbours just think it’s an extra-large greenhouse but those who visit are always blown away by what’s inside – it is like a Tardis in there and you really do feel like you’re in another country.
‘You can wander around the different paths and constantly see new things, even get a bit lost in there.
‘Occasionally people come to have a walk around it with me and later, when we’re sat in the living room watching TV, exotic bugs will crawl out from trousers, which can give quite a shock.
‘Asha and I regularly go back to Trinidad, to see her family but she just thinks I’m bonkers for trying to recreate it here. It probably helps her feel a little bit more at home and it’s certainly one way to escape the chilly Scottish climate.’
The greenhouse has now developed its own self- sufficient ecosystem over the past six years.
‘There is an entire food pyramid set up in there and I only need to take in a little fish food and occasionally the odd bit of fresh fruit to keep it topped up,’ Mr Stephenson said. ‘I regularly go in and find youngsters of various species running around, such as baby vampire crabs or lizards, which is really good as it shows they are all reproducing and the presence of bugs in the soil shows there is a balanced population.’
On one occasion many years ago, Mr Stephenson received a call that the ants had escaped and were stripping the neighbour’s vegetable patch and marching the haul back to the greenhouse in a footwide procession.
As they were guarded by giant-- fanged soldier ants that deliver a painful bite, Mr Stephenson and his neighbours could only watch as the ants finished their task.
As well as his own ‘pet’ colony in the greenhouse, which he estimates exceeds 50,000 individual ants, Mr Stephenson also shares his home with between 100 and 150 leaf cutting ant colonies, which he keeps in his ‘ant room’.
This is a 60sq ft room lined with tanks housing each colony, which usually start at around 50-100 ants but can grow into millions.
‘My fiancee thinks I’m bonkers’