Garden of Eden-Foja Mountains,Indonesia-photos

The smoky honeyeater is the first new bird species to be discovered on the island of New Guinea since 1939.

Scientists discovered the bird on a recent expedition to the Foja Mountains of Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea.

• Read "'Lost World' Found in Indonesia Is Trove of New Species"

Garden of Eden

The Foja Mountains of Indonesia are one of the few places on Earth still untouched by man. A group of scientists made their first expedition there in 2005 and discovered dozens of new animal and plant species. Correspondent Bob Simon traveled back into the area with Conservation International scientist Bruce Beehler and came away with a remarkable look at a modern day Garden of Eden.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The entire Foja Mountain range encompasses nearly 2.5 million acres.
• On his first visit in 2005, Bruce Beehler found more than 40 species of plants and animals new to science.
• The scientists identified more than 20 new species of frogs, including one approximately a half an inch long!
• For more on the Foja Mountains, click here.

Garden of Eden-Foja Mountains,Indonesia-photos

The smoky honeyeater is the first new bird species to be discovered on the island of New Guinea since 1939.

Scientists discovered the bird on a recent expedition to the Foja Mountains of Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea.

• Read "'Lost World' Found in Indonesia Is Trove of New Species"

Garden of Eden

The Foja Mountains of Indonesia are one of the few places on Earth still untouched by man. A group of scientists made their first expedition there in 2005 and discovered dozens of new animal and plant species. Correspondent Bob Simon traveled back into the area with Conservation International scientist Bruce Beehler and came away with a remarkable look at a modern day Garden of Eden.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The entire Foja Mountain range encompasses nearly 2.5 million acres.
• On his first visit in 2005, Bruce Beehler found more than 40 species of plants and animals new to science.
• The scientists identified more than 20 new species of frogs, including one approximately a half an inch long!
• For more on the Foja Mountains, click here.

Mainau Island Garden, Germany-Photos

Mainau - Flower Island - Lake of Constance - Germany - Featured Album October 10, 2007

A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN

An Island Garden

The island of Mainau is an ideal site for a garden. Washed by the temperate waters of Lake Constance, sheltered from the heavy snows of the Swiss Alps, Mainau enjoys an uncharacteristically mild climate for central Europe. Consequently the island has been planted with every imaginable tree and flower, and zealously tended by professional gardeners for over two centuries. Today the island garden is accessible by footbridge from Switzerland or by ferry from Meersburg, site of the oldest castle in Germany.

Mainau once belonged to the Grand Duke Frederick of Baden, who put in a stuffy, formal garden and planted hundreds of exotic trees. Some of the great attractions of the grounds--cedars of Lebanon, paulownias from Japan, and giant pines from the Himalayas--are today over 200 years old. Mainau's present owner, Count Lennart Bernadotte, covered the whole island with flowers. Tulips and hyacinths, 600,000 bulbs in all, carpet the ground in May. The 25,000 rosebushes erupt into a sea of color in June, and 18,000 dahlias blossom in September. A collapsible hothouse protects the tropical bamboo, fig, banana, and orange trees.

A giant floral map of Lake Constance orients the visitor geographically; the lakefront towns of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland being marked by the cities' flowers. Mainau takes its name from the wild mayflower.