Seen from the sky, the rural landscape of the United Kingdom is a rich mosaic of fields, heathland, mountains and forests.
Walk through the Scottish Highlands or in the Fens of the county of Norfolk and the land appears naturally wild and rugged. In fact, the landscape has been shaped by centuries of political decisions and economic choices that left their mark on the country’s history.

As early as the Middle Ages, the British reclaimed land from the sea, drained swamps, extracted peat, cut down entire forests to create large agricultural areas and raise livestock.

A few centuries later, British gardeners were inspired by the natural landscapes to redesign the domains of great landowners… Thus was born the famous English Garden – very different from the formal Italian and French creations. There’s always been a great tradition of gardens in the UK. Today though, the effects of climate change call for a new approach, embodied by an old china and clay pit in the south west of England that was transformed and became “The Eden Project”, a new future for this green and fertile land.