In a giant crater in Cornwall nestle the largest conservatories in the world. Inside: towering rainforests and tropical crops, the hot, dusty Mediterranean with citrus groves and gnarled cork oaks. Outside: crops and landscapes of Chile, Cornwall and the Indian Hills.

Why? To set the stage where science, art and technology blend to tell the story of our place in nature, and working with partners, look to our possible positive futures.

The Eden Project: testimony to the fact that if you dare to dream you can make a difference. This Biome, the largest conservatory in the world, is 240 m long, 110 m wide and 50 m high. It contains over 1,000 plant species, which have shot up since they were planted (from September 2000) and we’ve lost less than 5%. Misters and waterfalls keep the air moist and ground level irrigation keeps the soil moist so you won’t have to put up with the rainforest’s 1,500 mm (60 inches) of rain a year! The air is kept between 18° and 35°C. It gets hotter as you go up, so remove layers as you go.

There is an exit point at the Malaysian house, a cool room in West Africa for emergencies, and plenty of seats and water fountains to keep you comfortable on your way. So join us on a trip through the rainforests of the Oceanic Islands, Malaysia, West Africa and tropical South America and discover how local and global people rely on the plants and crops from the tropics. We look at how people are managing the land to meet their needs and conserve the environment. The Eden team visited the regions represented to get advice from our partner communities as to how they would like to be represented

Halfway between our wet green woods and the world’s deserts are the warm temperate regions. An important part of these are the Mediterranean regions, characterized by hot dry summers and cool wet winters. They are found on the western sides of continents between 30-40 degrees N or S latitude, and are caused by cold ocean currents, trade winds and topography. They include parts of California and South Africa, S.W Australia and Chile as well as the Med. itself – the warm, sunny holiday places. Natural gardens bloom in a gardener’s nightmare of drought, scorching sun, poor, thin soils and fire. Plants have spines, waxy evergreen leaves or small, grey, hairy leaves, all of which serve to protect. Shrubs are more common than trees, bulbs hide below the summer-scorched soil, and annuals bloom in a riot of colour after winter rains.

We keep it dry and dusty in parts of this Biome to stress the plants so they behave as they do in the wild. Breathe in … the scent comes from the plants’ protective oils. These act as bug repellents and vapour barriers to reduce water loss. Our Biomes, unlike glass, transmit UV light, which also increases plant oils – so on sunny days don’t forget to protect yourself too The Outdoor Landscape brings the natural landscapes and crops of our temperate regions, which Cornwall and the rest of Britain share to varying degrees with parts of America, Russia and the cool, misty Indian foothills. Here are plants that nurture us, made history, caused wars, save lives, entertain us and provide hope for the future – all plants that we see every day, illustrating not only our dependence on plants but our interdependence on each other, for better or worse.