© Simon Burt/Apex
In March this year, the largest botanical gardens of their kind in the world were opened. The Eden Project in Cornwall, south-west England, provides a habitat for trees and plants from three different climatic zones. Largely financed by the European Union and the British Millennium Fund, the gardens, with their huge greenhouses, are proving a great magnet for the public. During the construction period alone, the site drew some 500,000 visitors, and in the first two months after the gardens were opened, 400,000 people came to see the botanical and architectural attractions.