Gardening for the greater good

Biodomes at Cornwall's Eden Project.

I have just had the pleasure of visiting an amazing garden in England and it put me in mind of another one I visited about 18 months ago in Australia. The Eden Project is a spectacular example of land reclamation. Started in 1995 in rural Cornwall on the site of a massive pit remaining from the extraction of clay for china manufacturing, the project opened to the public in 2001. It is now a world renowned centre for education and research in sustainable horticulture. If you have not been there you may have seen a photo of its unique biodomes that look as if they are made of bubble wrap.

Giant bee sculpture is part of a pollination display at Eden.

Eden has two biodomes - Rainforest and Mediterranean - each comprised of three huge bubbles. In the world's largest indoor rainforest the Rainforest Canopy Walkway will give you a bird's eye view of the forest below. Here you can learn how people live in different rainforest regions of the world. One storyline concerns the canoe plants brought by the Polynesians who founded Hawaii.

On the Rainforest Canopy Walkway.

Looking down from the Rainforest Canopy Walkway.

In addition to numerous vegetables plots there are floral displays indoors and out to engage the senses, activities for children, and even a zip line for the more daring adult visitors.

Irises highlight this outdoor display.

Much of the food served at Eden is raised on site.

In Melbourne, Australia the CERES (Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) Community Environment Park has been engaged in similar work on a smaller scale since 1982. Here a site that had been quarried then used as a landfill was restored to a productive urban farm where sustainability is practised and taught.

The welcoming entrance to CERES in Melbourne.

Facilities at CERES include an organic market, a café and a permaculture nursery. Permaculture is a new word in my vocabulary referring to the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient. CERES is also recognized internationally.