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19 Av 5761 - August 8, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Observations: Britain Inaugurates Gigantic Hothouse Garden
by N. Katzin

A hothouse garden encompassing all of the world's climatic regions has recently opened its doors to the public in Cornwall, England. Known as the Eden Project, thousands of visitors have flocked to this grandiose project since its opening.

The garden is comprised of eight huge bubbles -- geodesic domes -- each simulating a different climate. The bubbles have been stocked with 4000 botanic species and 40 thousand cubic meters of earth. 400 scientists, draftsmen and botanists worked to set up the project, at an unprecedented cost of 100 million British pounds. The panels are made of a double layer of plastic, which is lighter than glass and gives better insulation.

Visitors are awed by the impressive array of the wonders of Creation gathered under one roof. Visitors to the eight huge hothouses encounter climatic conditions corresponding to various regions, along with its typical vegetation. One can go from the Brazilian Rain Forest to an air- conditioned Mediterranean climate. In the well- tended gardens, one may find local flowers from Cornwall and exotic plants from New Zealand and the Himalayas. Waterfalls, lakes, swamps, rivers, orchards and vineyards are interspersed between the various bubbles, and within them, constituting an inseparable part of the overwhelming experience.

The bubbles are made of semitransparent plastic, bolstered by thousands of tons of steel piping. The project will serve as a tourist attraction and as a site where researchers and professionals can find a broad area for study without having to trek to distant lands.

First opened to the public last April, many of the plants are very young. The Humid Tropics bubble is said to look properly luxuriant, but in others, like the Warm Temperate bubble, the plants are still quite young and undeveloped.

 

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