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48904

The Great Glasshouse, in the grounds of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, in the River Tywi Valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales

The spectacular dome is the largest single-span great glasshouse in the world, It was designed by Norman Foster and Partners it is poised on the Welsh landscape like a giant raindrop.

It houses some of the most endangered plants on the planet which come from six areas of the world: California, Australia, the Canary Islands, Chile, South Africa, the Mediterranean Basin.

Each of these geographical areas has regions that enjoy a Mediterranean climate. Hot dry summers, cool moist winters, dazzling sunlight, strong breezes and the occasional ground-clearing fire, create perfect conditions for many plants to thrive on the scrubby, rock-strewn landscapes.

Although these regions cover less than 2% of the Earth’s surface, they contain more than 20% of all known flowering plant species, and their richness and plant diversity are considered second only in importance to tropical rainforests.

Sadly, these plants are under serious threat from modern human developments in agriculture, tourism, housing and increasingly, climate change.

At first glance, it is not obvious that the plants in the Great Glasshouse come from six different places in the world. This is because they often share many qualities, such as small leathery evergreen leaves and dense shrubby forms, having adapted in similar ways to the similar environmental pressures they face.

Kathryn Gustafson designed the imaginative flowing landscape inside the Great Glasshouse on which these plants thrive. Covering 3,500 square metres, its rocky terraces, sandstone cliffs and gravelled scree slopes are contoured to reflect the natural environment and to create a wide range of habitats, balancing light and shade and varying moisture levels to suit the needs of different plants.

Information Source:
botanicgarden.wales/garden-areas/the-great-glasshouse

Taken in: UK / Wales / Llanarthney (show map)

Taken on: June 23, 2017

Tags:

National Botanic Garden of Wales

Carmarthenshire

Welsh

Cymru

United Kingdom

Great Britain

Britain

British

River Tywi Valley

Middleton

Sir William Paxton

Park

garden

Botanic Gardens

Samuel Pepys Cockerell

Middleton Hall

Great Glasshouse

single-span great glasshouse

Norman Foster and Partners

Kathryn Gustafson « less

Sets appears in: • National Botanic Garden of Wales • Carmarthenshire more » • Wales « less

Groups appears in: • Wales • Carmarthenshire more » • Wales and the Welsh • Anything Goes No Limits • South Wales • Animals (All Kinds) • Unlimited! • ANIMAL... • Wales, UK • Animals (all) • PARKS GARDENS AND WOODS • (A) BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE RETREAT • The Very Great Outdoors • CYMRU COUNTRY • Flickr Photo Album Unlimited & Instant Posting « less

Camera: Nikon D7100, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, 105mm (=157mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7100
Lens:	18.0-105.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.025 sec (1/40)
Focal Length:	105mm (35mm equivalent: 157mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Lightroom 7.0 (Windows)
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