Balanus balanus found at depths of up to and grows on bedrock, boulders, pebbles and shells. It seems to favour habitats with strong currents and when overcrowding occurs, adopts different shapes to fit the space available. It is often found growing alongside another barnacle, "Balanus crenatus". Other species often found in its vicinity include "Tubularia larynx", "Obelia geniculata", "Pomatoceros triqueter", "Pecten maximus", "Hydroides norvegica", "Chlamys opercularis" and "Sertularia" species. Coralline algae was often present as were the whelk, the European edible sea urchin ("Echinus esculentus"), the great spider crab ("Hyas araneus") and the shore crab ("Carcinus maenas"). The main predator is the
Chinese garden in what was going on in Europe. He commissioned the Jesuit priest Father Castiglione, who was trained in engineering, to build fountains for his garden similar to those he had heard about in the gardens at Versailles. Chinese architecture and aesthetics also influenced the English garden. In 1685, the English diplomat and writer Sir William Temple wrote an essay "Upon the garden of Epicurus" (published in 1692), which contrasted European theories of symmetrical gardens with asymmetrical compositions from China. Temple had never visited China, but he had read the works of European travelers there. He noted that Chinese gardens avoided