Is the Garden of Eden in the Past?

There's a lot of debate about how to interpret these stories, early stories in Genesis chapters one and two. But what nobody debates is that these stories are set in the past. So this just furthers the puzzle even more. Because when is the garden? Is it in the past? Or is it in immediate future? For Jesus and the criminal, today I will meet you in the garden of Eden. You guys with me? That's the puzzle, right?