Albane Claray is the genius behind the Village de Roqueblanche, which I visited back in 2022 and Les Secrets d’Albane, now sadly gone from SL, but which captured my eye back in 2025 with its tiny size and huge beauty . She is also responsible for a host of regions designs, public and private, across Second Life she has brought to life on behalf of their owners.
Albane is also the creator of Garden of Silversides, a public retreat of just over 7,00 square metres sponsored by estate holders Blackwater property Rental. It’s a setting proving (again) what can be achieved with a small about of land space and land capacity, and how a location with a substantial change in elevation within its relatively small size can be used to create something very special.
A place where souls wander and where the softness of the night invites you to stroll along the paths.
– Garden of Silversides About Land description
Located in a fold of land marking the start of the north-west headland of Nautilus, Garden of Silversides presents a heaven of tranquillity wrapping themes of fantasy, exotic plants, tumbling falls and quiet, still waters. Within it is not only an atmosphere of peace and harmony, but also of eternal mystery befitting of the elves of Tolkien, particularly when seen under the Shared Environment EEP settings.
The uppermost elevation of the setting is where the Landing Point resides, just outside of the main building. The latter takes the form of an elven cottage that would not be out of place within Imladris. It is a design by Compulsion Overdrive I’ve always admired and oft wondered about using. Here, Albane has taken its natural beauty and turned it into something truly extraordinary and captivating inside through the use of art, water, plants and décor, presenting a place where the imagination can become immersed in weaving tales and legends, the giant books to be found within and just outside perhaps spurring those tales on.
Paths run around the outside of the cottage to offer routes of exploration for the inquisitive. They wander through the garden and up and over the curtain cliffs dividing the setting from the local road as it passes the northern edge of the parcel.
These paths are worth exploring as they weave overground and underground to eventually reveal more of the setting’s secrets – which are waiting to be discovered amidst the natural and exotic flora. The latter feature elements by Elicio Ember, whose name helps further the elven-fantasy spirit inhabiting the Garden, whilst the plants themselves add to its exotic beauty and sense of mystery.
One of these paths has a spur leading down to the mid-level of the Garden. Here further water features await discovery with a wild flowered glade between them sitting in the shade of a dogwood tree standing like a great horned beast looking out to sea. From the glade, the way down continues by way of steps cut into the rock, presenting a way down to a waterfront lawn and a summer house matching the elven design of the cottage.
This is a place of romance as well as retreat, the large mushroom-canopied bed in the summer house giving both illumination and an invitation to spend time here. A small beach sits alongside the grounds, allowing those who do tarry to listen to the soft splash and hiss of water sweeping back and forth over the sand, thoughts perhaps turning to voyages away from the coast and out to whatever might be found beyond the horizon.
Words – written or spoken – really don’t do Garden of Silversides justice; the detail throughout, from the cottage and its furnishings through the gardens to the waterfalls and flowers and plants to the summer house and the secret places, are all rich and engaging.
Floating star-like spirit lights drift around the Garden adding to the atmosphere, as does the use of reflected lighting patterns. The latter suggest the play of moonlight dappling waters as seen from below; they drift and turn over grass, flowers and water alike, further enhancing the Garden’s ethereal nature (and are a reason the setting really should be viewed under its assigned EEP settings).
In all, a thoroughly engaging location, one definitely worth the time spent within its glades and under its eaves and its canopies of leaves.
SLurl Details
- Garden of Silversides (Silversides, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 