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This other Eden November 2000 Tim Smit certainly has more than a passing passion for plants. In 1990 he found a lost 19th century tropical garden. It had become overgrown with weeds and forgotten about somewhere between the two world wars. Turning this into The Lost Gardens of Heligan was a massive achievement, but a drop in the ocean compare to his current project. He's raised almost £80m for the Eden Project, otherwise known as the 8th wonder of the world. The Eden Project has been well documented in the media. Its biomes will be open in Easter 2000, though the visitor centre is currently open. As I was on holiday in Cornwall, the home of both the above-mentioned places, we couldn't resist taking a sneak preview of Eden. One rainy afternoon, we parked in the apple zone and thought how apt that was as it reflected the fresh network logo! Maybe we just had too much time on our hands... Large plastic triffid-type flowers called Flexiplants sinisterly greeted us. Apparently, they add instant planting wherever new projects are shaping the land. As someone who loves modern art, yet loves nature even more, I thought they looked ugly and inappropriate. When preparing to visit a new Eden, this was too much, too soon for my senses. Once at the visitor's centre, we donned our very attractive white hard hats for a train journey around the biomes. Really, we were being tugged by a tractor, and only got to see the biomes from an elevated distance - but that was impressive enough. We were told to keep our hands inside the carriages at all times. As we started moving, I exclaimed: "Oh look at all that food!" I was so excited by the luscious weeds on the verge that I started pointing my arm out of the carriage. Quickly remembering the arm rule, I popped it back in again and we laughed at everyone else trying to see where this supposed verge-food was. You forget that "they" eat differently, don't you? The train journey was made all the more enjoyable by the recorded voice of Tim Smit. As well as dishing out the factual details on the project, he had some wise foresty words. He spoke of his wish to inform us how dependant we are on plants. He wanted to provoke feelings of awe at the achievements of man and then feelings of humility at the power of plants. I'm with you, Tim. As we looked at the biomes, Tim's soothing voice told us that the tropical dome is 16,000sq metres - the largest conservatory in the world. It'll be the first conservatory to allow such rainforest giants as mahogany to grow to their full height. Bonsai growers, take note, if you're going to keep trees captured, this is the way to do it! The big see-through biome sections are made of ETFE, or "cling film with attitude", as Tim says. Each overgrown contact-lens lets in 93% light (including the crucial UV rays), is strong enough to have a rugby team dance on it, is light enough to be lifted by one man and can be mended with a bicycle puncture repair kit. It took Tim about 2 years to find the ideal location for Eden, and after listening to the above I got the impression that he would have gone to the ends of the earth to source only the best materials for his 7,000 Eden plants. After the rainy train ride, we went inside the visitor's centre - I could finally take my gloves off. We wandered into a contemporary art gallery but this one had a point - to educate and entertain us about the plants we share this earth with. My favourite exhibition was the Plant Take Away. The initial scene is a happy family, complete with dog lying by the fire, cat drinking milk and man and woman standing by a table laden with fruit. When we pressed a button all the plant-derived items disappeared, one by one. After losing the obvious bowl of fruit and wooden logs on the fire, the tables, chairs, books, window frame and curtains went. Then the life size mannequins ended up as naked as Adam and Eve. Eventually, the cat keeled over because his milk had gone from the bowl, due to the cow not having any grass. Hmm - I'm not sure a cat would be drinking milk if it weren't for us pesky humans! The final touch was that the logo of the company who created the Plant Take Away collapsed. As this tableau told the story of a world without plants in a simple and slightly comical fashion, I gained hope that it would reach out to more than just those who already knew the importance of balancing this world's resources. On some massive rugs, I rummaged through the special educational tools and games for children. There was plastic fruit in baskets - children had to draw which type of tree the fruit might grew on and imagine what its flowers might look like. I was truly uplifted to see this type of education - the Earth's future is in the hands of little people! I found myself sniffing a raw rubber seat in Rubberworld. I thought it smelled divine until I realised how many people must have sat on it, so I stopped sniffing an moved on. Amongst other rubber items, we saw examples of the first rubber footwear, shaped exactly like a foot, and even a genuine 1950s condom complete with washing instructions! The Extreme Veg shed displayed replicas of some of the largest fruit. The world's largest pumpkin weighed in at 481kg. The "raw data" explained that the pumpkin gets its name from the Greek word pepon, which means cooked by the sun! Then I saw the world's longest lasting tomato: a type called FlavrSavr TM. You can probably guess that this is a genetically modified tomato. It was only supposed to go out of the labs and to the public after it had been pureed, to prevent the seeds spreading into the wild. However, the scientists who taste-tested it forgot, and after going to the loo they flushed and "caused an unauthorised release" of the seeds! Tragic, but I had to laugh. The Ideal Home was a "house" which contained cleaning products, fertilisers, food and furniture. Next to each item was a quote from some focus groups that had previously toured the house. The most poignant quote was "Living sustainably isn't just about carrying the burdens of the world in your shopping trolley". There were many other exhibits, including Microscopic Wonders, Bad Plants (very funny), The Edeon Cinema and Plant Cures. We left this section thinking about food, so decided to see what the restaurant had to offer. As we made our way into the restaurant, I liked the clean and modern décor. There were wooden tables and large vegetable pictures with text swathing the walls. When we looked at the blackboard menu and saw Cornish pasties, steak and chips and other uninspired food choices we both thought how out of keeping this was with the rest of the place. This would have been a perfect environment for a fresh juice bar, vibrant salads and exotic fruits. I know that caterers have to adhere to public demands, but there didn't seem to be any pride in the food being served. Even the cheese salad looked like it had been crying. We both felt that this restaurant really let the whole place down. I have to say that the Eden web site mentions a juice bar, but we didn't see one. Our final nosey was at the gift shop. The text on the walls promised organic, sustainable products, and some of them were. There were cruelty-free cosmetics, preserves, educational items, and lots of plants for sale. Some items, such as t-shirts, were made of non-organic cotton - though the large board above them described the virtues of using hemp. Hmm...designed by one person, stocked by another... Armed with a pocket full of notes, we left this other Eden the same way as we came in, past the horrible Flexiplants. They reminded me that this place, though inspiring and educational, is still only man-made and nowhere near as awesome as the spider's webs that decorate my garden all year round. We spent over 2 hours enthralled at the visitor's centre, and were pleased that we'd been to see a piece of history in its making. However, headed back to the apple zone, I felt no more like Adam or even Eve. Eden's mission Eden's mission is to "Promote the understanding and responsible management of the vital relationship between plants, people and resources, leading towards a sustainable future for all." Contact For more information on the Eden Project, visit www.edenproject.com.

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