I was led to Frog’s Garden by the redoubtable Sam Rougefeu (Dodderi Haifisch), after he pointed to the setting recently on Twitter. Sam is, like me, an avid explorer of Second Life and he records his explorations and discoveries via his blog Exploring Second Life – and if it’s not on your reading list, then I suggest it should be 🙂 .
Frog’s Garden is the work of Kaoru Darkstone and occupies roughly one sixth of a Full private region exercising the additional Land Capacity bonus offered to such regions by Linden Lab.
Although occupying the south-eastern corner of the region, and so open to the sea on two sides, the setting keeps just its eastern end open, drawing a curtain of vertical cliffs around the other three.
Doing so is actually to the setting’s advantage, allowing it to come across as a tranquil setting far from the pressures of the world; a place where travels can rest and recharge their batteries.
This is place of gentle contrasts, from the rough, shingle shoreline to the cliffs with their tumbling screens of water and the streams and pools to which they give rise, all of which shelters groves of tree, blankets of flowers and grasses and meandering paths.
Within it, as well, are three physical places to spend time, each of which gently contrasts with its two neighbours.
The first of these is the large, modern café. Such is its prominence, I’ve opted to use it as the Slurl Landing Point for this article, as none appears to be set or enforced within the parcel.
The other two are, by turn of the footpath leading away from the café, a Shinto shrine sitting within its own grounds and tucked back into a corner of the setting. Close by, but sitting behind its own dry stone wall in a little need of repair, sits a small vegetable garden, most likely growing fresh produce for the café.
Of the three, the café offers the most comfortable place to relax, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The temple forms a nice retreat, although it might be a little disappointingly empty for some. However, in his piece, Sam does point out it is a memento from a now-closed location in SL, so its currently condition perhaps shouldn’t be critiqued too much.
Which is not to say the café is left as the only place to sit – there is a table and chairs out at the little open-sided barn at the vegetable garden, and some other little spots are to be found through the simple act of wandering.
This is a place for careful exploration, as there are a lot of details which might be missed – I’ll leave to find the tiny waterside shrine and the deer tucked away among the trees for example.
The shoreline here is not one for sunbathing or paddling; whilst there is a path running down to it, the shingle and rocks are all fairly rough and liable to be indifferent to the comfort of bare feet. However, this actually adds to the attractiveness of Frog’s Garden, as nature can be indifferent to our needs, and not very stretch of coastline is necessarily sandy.
That said there are perhaps a couple of rough edges to things here and there: the base on which the café sits could be a little tidier and one of the bridges is perhaps a little oddly placed. But these are very minor grumbles.
The one thing the parcel could benefit from, however, is a Shared Environment which brings out more of its natural colour and depth. After initially taken some shots using the default environment, I did find myself switching to one of my personal EPP Day skies; should you visit Frog’s Garden, you might want experiment with your own EEP settings.
Frog’s Garden is a charming corner of Second Life rich in detail and ideal for those who love café hopping around the grid. My thanks to Sam once again for pointing me towards it!
SLurl Details
- Frog’s Garden (Enchanted Falls, rated: Adult)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 