Outdoor Gardens

In 1995, this hole in the ground in the county of Cornwall in the far south-west of the UK was a working china clay mine nearing the end of its economic life. By 2001 it had been transformed into the Eden Project, with the building of enormous Biome structures and the planting of acres of surrounding gardens on the slopes of the pit.

The Outdoor Gardens feature over 3,700 different species and cultivars of plant. A huge array of exhibits cover everything from prehistoric plants to plants used for food, medicine and fuel. With help from Reading University, the Eden Project made over 83,000 tonnes of soil to cover the slopes of the former clay mine, helping to show that environmental regeneration is possible. 

A giant bee sculpture in the Outdoor Gardens is a reminder of how important pollinating insects such as bees are to flowers – and to us humans.

The Sense of Memory Garden was designed by award-winning landscape architect Thomas Hoblyn, who first created the garden at the 2011 Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show. Tom’s design was inspired by his childhood memories of exploration along the Cornish coast, Bodmin Moor and the traditional gardens of Trebah and Trewithen.

Every summer, dahlias of all shapes, sizes and colours bloom here.

The hemp exhibit in the Outdoor Gardens explains the remarkable versatility of the plant.

Daffodils love the mild Cornish climate of Eden's Outdoor Gardens.

On rare occasions, it snows at the Eden Project, making for a spectacular scene!