According to the Doctor, the garden was in fact more like a giant greenhouse. The sky and sunshine above were all artificial and carefully controlled, although to be honest Rose couldn't tell the difference. The plants were real enough though. Trees of all shapes and sizes, bushes, shrubs, flowers, climbers, vines and a lawn perfect enough to make the people at Wimbledon jealous.
Walking through the rows and rows of flower beds, arm in arm with the Doctor, Rose shook her head in amazement.
"I can't believe you didn't show me all this before."
He shrugged, "I've never had much use for it myself. It's more a collection really. Some of these species are extinct on their own planets. Some of them are from planets that don't even exist anymore."
She caught the slightly pained tone in his voice and looked up to see it was reflected in a dark look in his eyes.
"Any man eating plants in here?" she said with a playful grin, trying to lighten the mood again.
It seemed to do the trick because his face immediately brightened.
"No," he said nonchalantly, "He's on the fifth floor."
He paused, looking mildly thoughtful before adding, "Don't go up there, by the way. He's not house trained."
Rose giggled, "Avoid going near the plants that will try to eat me. Got it."
She walked a few more thoughtful steps before curiosity got the better of her.
"So, what do you feed it on then?"
"Your boyfriends."
"Seriously?" she prompted with a weary grin.
He waved his hand in a casual manner, "This artificial fertilizer stuff. It can't tell the difference. Man eating plants are not as bright as you might think."
"Shockingly enough, I've never really thought about it."
They walked on a bit further in companionable silence. Despite her earlier protests, Rose had to admit that this was nice.
"I always wanted a garden when I was a kid," she said quietly, not entirely sure why she felt the need to tell him but carrying on regardless, "But me and mum lived in that flat all my life. We were lucky if we could get a decent window box going."
A vaguely nostalgic look crossed her features, as if she was remembering something long forgotten.
"My Nan said that when dad was alive we lived in this little house in East Ham," Rose continued, talking to herself as much as to him, "Tiny, she said, but it had a great little garden. Apparently it was my mum's pride and joy. She used to drag my cot outside so she could weed the flower beds and explain everything she was doing to me. Not that it did much good. I'm hopeless with anything that grows. I just end up killing them."
She laughed as a thought struck her, "You know she can barely look after herself at times, but give her a ratty, half dead plant to tend to and she's a miracle worker…".
She trailed off shaking her head in amazement.
"Nan said she was really upset to have to leave it, but after dad died, she couldn't afford to live there anymore. Besides, she had to go back to work so she didn't have much time for gardening."
The Doctor looked at her carefully. In the year he'd known her, he'd rarely heard her speak so openly about her family. They were so often rushing from place to place that there was just no time to think of anything but the here and now. He found that he liked hearing about her past. He liked feeling closer to her.
"Of course, you know why I wanted a garden," she said, shaking herself out of a thoughtful daze.
"No," he said, a little hesitantly.
She grinned, "Bouncy castle!"
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on!" she reasoned, "What kid doesn't deserve the right to eat jelly and ice cream and then bounce up and down until they're sick on their birthday!"
"Come on," he said, turning her round and heading back towards the exit, "Let's get you out of here quick before you get any funny ideas."
Rose pouted at him in mock hurt, "Spoilsport."
"Do you have idea how long it takes to get that lawn looking that good?" he complained.
"Okay, so where you taking me now then?" she asked, finding this whole experience much more exciting than she could have imagined at first, "Have you got a chocolate factory hidden away in her somewhere?"
"'Fraid not," he said, "It's something much more exciting."
"Oh yeah?" she questioned.
The Doctor grinned, mysteriously, "Well, if I told you it would ruin the element of surprise, wouldn't it? Patience is a virtue and all that."