Eden Project伊甸園

The Brits are well known for their love of gardening and it has been claimed that nearly half of Britons consider gardening a hobby that they genuinely enjoy. I fall in the majority half. Having said that, I do like beautiful plants, I just don’t have the patience to nurture them.  A few years ago we visited the Eden Project in Cornwall, famous for its tropical garden.

英國人出名熱愛園藝，有些調查甚至說有近一半英國人表示園藝是他們的嗜好。雖然我是屬於另外的那半數人，但我還是很喜歡美麗植物，只是我沒有耐心栽種。幾年前，我到西南部康沃爾郡Cornwall著名的熱帶花園伊甸園項目參觀。

It has two biomes about 30 football pitches big, one houses the largest indoor rainforest in the world and the other a Mediterranean environment. Each biome mimics these natural environments and contains plants from these regions. This enables visitors to visit and learn about these regions without actually going there. My favourite part on the whole site is the rainforest canopy walk inside the biome. At 100ft above ground this is definitely not something for the fainthearted but I do highly recommend it if you ever visit.  Likewise for the restaurant which serves delicious fresh food.

Undoubtedly there has been a lot of thought and effort to recreate exotic environments for entertainment and educational purpose, and I see what the Project is trying to achieve. Where I disagree is the actual approach. Throughout Britain, there is a vast array of magnificent natural plants during each season. I would have preferred the effort to be spent on recreating the four seasons in Britain to showcase a year round beautiful garden to the world instead.

英國人出名熱愛園藝，有些調查甚至說有近一半英國人表示園藝是他們的嗜好。雖然我是屬於另外的那半數人，但我還是很喜歡美麗植物，只是我沒有耐心栽種。

幾年前，我到西南部康沃爾郡Cornwall著名的熱帶花園伊甸園項目參觀。它有兩個約30個足球場大的生物群落，其中一個是世界上最大室內熱帶雨林, 另一個是地中海環境。生物群落裡模擬這些地區天然氣候及環境，種值很多當地植物，好讓遊客不用遠行也可以親身感驗熱帶雨林及地中海。整個行程中我最喜歡熱帶雨林生物群落內的高空漫步。離地面一百英尺有一座高台吊在空中讓遊客可用另一角度看世界。 步行上去時從梯級中罅隙見到地面人與植物慢慢縮小,可説一步一驚心。 如果你沒有畏高我會極力推薦你嘗試。同時，園内餐廳的食物也很色香味美。

毫無疑問，伊甸園花了很多心思和精力去構造這項目而我也明白它想提供的信息。我只是下太同意它的表達方法。英國各處每個季節都有很多美麗的天然植物。與其模仿世界其他地區何不展示英國四季大自然環境, 好讓遊客可以欣赏一個英國的四季花園。