Yesterday I spent the day mentoring start up internet companies looking for investment www.seedcamp.com. This was the first time I'd done it so wasn't sure really what to expect. Actually I was kind of dreading it having a bit of a hibernation moment.

In fact it was fantastic. Really inspiring seeing the next generation of internet companies being born. The infectious passion and some good learnings have made me even more enthused to succeed with my own business. Watch this space..

Since I last wrote I've been to Costa Rica to observe and understand more of the tropical environment in its natural state. Here's an extract of one of my emails to base camp:

We´re having an amazing time; currently staying at the base of a live volcano! A couple of nights ago we went up in a truck at night and saw some lava flows. So humbling. They reassure you it won't blow (based on what God knows!). I bet that´s what they said in 1991 when it last decided to erupt.

It´s a real eco place here - lots of botanists and women of a certain age in sensible shoes. Our first stay after San Jose - where we landed, was up in the rainforest (actually this part is called a cloud forest) at an ex quaker camp. In the first part of the century twelve families came up to live in the rainforest as they were conscientious objectors. They came up just on donkeys and built a settlement there making lives for themselves. It's now a hotel and still run by the same family - but the area is still pretty primitive and a good five hour bumpy ride to get to. We´ve been in bed at about 9 most nights (there is wine though luckily)!

It made it all worth the journey when we properly went into the cloudforest up here. The whole atmosphere is very raw. It´s quite hard to articulate but I think the sheer scale of everything (enormous because of the rainfall) and the sounds (just purely created by nature; nothing man made) - make you feel like you have reached a different planet. Someone described it as feeling like walking in a grandiose green cathedral - this somehow doesn't even come close to describing Nature's beautiful designs and clever acoustics in this unique corner of our planet.

Incredibly the rainforest is home to more than half the world’s plant and animal species. You can see and feel it here. The plants are awesome, because they simply grow at all levels in all directions. This is particularly true in the cloud forest because of the mist providing continuous moisture. I'm unconsciously used to European flora and take it for granted that in general things start at ground level and grow up. Here there seem to be no rules. Of course everything is searching for light in some form, but you are literally surrounded by growth in many directions from multiple levels. Stunning vines grow up, and roots, and mosses hanging down, with bromeliads secreted at all levels. It's very inspiring from a garden design perspective, it kind of broadens your mind to possibilities and natural beauty that should and could be captured in cultivated gardens.

Some facts about the Monteverde forests:

In Monteverde Costa Rica rain forest are found more than 100 species of mammals including 5 species of cats, over 400 species of birds including 30 kinds of hummingbirds, tens of thousands of insect species (over 5000 species of moths) and 2,500 species of plants (420 kinds of orchids). The area is acclaimed as one of the most outstanding wildlife refuges in the New World Tropics.

We saw a wonderful sloth which was like a giant womble. I have some amazing photos of humming birds and plants as you can imagine. We also went to a frog centre at my insistence! They were lovely.

Our hotel here at the volcano is very peaceful despite being at the volcano base (we moved on from the quaker place three days ago) - it´s like a shack villa - but we even have a jacuzzi on our terrace. Later today we are leaving the volcano and have another 5 hour ride to go down to the Pacific coast. This will be less rural and more developed I think. We have one more trip on a boat to see dolphins and more sea animals.

How cool. A Solar Powered Plant Pot! Click on the picture to find out more.

I think I'm developing a love hate relationship with The Chelsea Flower Show. I do love it. And wouldn't miss it. But sometimes the twee-ness of it all is too much. Too many fairies and plastic twisty things. That said, I thought the some of the designs were fantastic this year. Noteably the Laurent-Perrier Garden. For more take a look at the little video in the vids section