24.4.09

Jardin des Plantes



The “Jardin des Plantes” is Paris’ major botanical garden. You can actually also find a size wise modest but interesting zoo here (installed in 1795), but I will refer to that another time.

The botanical garden is old, founded in 1626 as a medicinal herb garden. It was originally called “Le Jardin du Roi” (The King’s Garden) and was opened to public already in 1640.



For most of us, it’s of course a place for walking around, resting.... and watch all the beautiful trees, plants, flowers...
There are a lot of kids around, for playing, but also to learn.
It’s a bit early to visit the part called the Rose Garden, but I discovered a few buds and a first rose!

On the way up a hill to the “labyrinth”, I discovered a cedar tree planted in 1739!
I didn’t count the number of statues. (It must have been more encouraging to be a sculptor during previous centuries than today.)

For obvious reasons there are also some green houses.
The Garden maintains also a botanical school. A large part is dedicated to alpine vegetation and there is now of course also an ecological corner.
This is also where you can find some museum buildings under the cover of the National Museum of Natural History (like the Garden itself): “Evolution”, “Paleontology”, “Entomology” and “Mineralogy”. They would also need a specific post – each!


I wish you a nice weekend!

58 comments:

James said...

I've never been to Paris at this time of year. It's absolutely beautiful. Thanks for the feast for the eyes.

Cezar and Léia said...

Fantastic spring!
Certainly tonight I will dream about Paris and this beautiful place!
The Rose Garden was my favorite one!
Thanks! :-)
Léia

Anonymous said...

Very beautiful photos of the flowers, Peter. I didn't think they could be that pretty overseas. LOL

Parisbreakfasts said...

Did you just take these?
It is sooo lush!
I have never been to the J.de P. Now I'm seriously tempted..is there any chocolate there?

krystyna said...

I love this garden. Looks like eden's garden. This cedar tree is beautiful and strong. I'd like to hug this cedar...
I send a big hug to you, the outhor of this beauties!
Great photos!

Let's spring springs!

Blind Fly Theater said...

Spring has really taken flight in Paris and you've captured it masterfully in this post. Thank you for the JdeP lesson. David

Shionge said...

I wanna be there soon Peter :D

I'll bring along my picnic basket and could you bring along a bottle of wine too :D

Cheers to a wonderful weekend pal ;D

Dakota Bear said...

Beautiful Spring pictures in the Garden. Thank you for the tour.

Havea great weekend.

Peter (the other) said...

I love that the hill the cedar is planted in is an old Roman trash heap. Oh yeah, the glass houses are where Henri Rousseau found his inspiration.

Jill said...

One could use up a whole trip just visiting here. What a glorious time you must have had walking and shooting. The abundance of color and fragrance must border overwhelming.

alice said...

L'un de mes endroits favoris à Paris. Mis à part le zoo, dans un état assez lamentable d'après mes souvenirs...D'ailleurs tu n'en parles pas, peut-être n'existe t-il plus. Pauvres ours au fond d'une fosse... Mais ça mis à part, tout le reste est fantastique, les jardins, les bâtiments, la Grande Galerie...
Bon weekend à toi!

hpy said...

J'espère que tu nous montreras les vieux cailloux un autre jour. Je n'ai jamais eu l'occasion d'entrer dans les bâtiment sur le coté gauche - ils devaient être fermés les fois où je me rendais au jardin du roi.
La végétation me parait bien luxuriante sur tes photos. C'est très beau.

Vamsee Modugula said...

Awesome pictures of the gardens...makes me wish I went to Paris in Spring instead of Summer

Olivier said...

la première donne envie de rentrer dans la photo et de profiter de ce jardin, il est magnifique

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Whoaaa! These are such wonderful pictures! I love the ones of the flowers, they are so rich in colours! Marvelous! Thanks for sharing! Do have a wonderful weekend!

claude said...

Quel merveilleux endroit ! J'en prends plein les yeux ce matin. You make my day today, Peter !

EMNM said...

I´ve been there last summer and i liked so much. Also, in the museum, you can find one of my favourite animals, the thilacyne!

Have a nice weekend!

Adam said...

This is actually my favourite place in the city. It is just so much more attractive and relaxing than the other Jardins; Luxembourg and Tuilleries. I can't wait for the Grandes Serres to open again - I remember them being open when I first arrived in the city, but it seems like they've been closed for years now.

The Musée de l'Histoire Naturelle is definitely worth a post of its own as it is a very odd place! I'd like to see your photos of two headed lambs!

SusuPetal said...

Oh, these colours!!!!

I drove by the botanical garden in Helsinki this morning and I can assure you the main colour was grey. Yes, and a bit of brown.

But the sun is shining and it's almost 14 degrees warm, so maybe we'll have some green this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend, Peter!

Delphine said...

What am amazing tour, thankyou I felt like I was there! Also loved your collage of photos, that really works! I find it difficule to believe that we never take the time to visit Paris even being just 2 1/2 hours away. Perhaps soon!

Eddy said...

quel endroit magnifique, en plein centre de notre capitale. En plus vu avec tes collages, c'est encore plus beau (je ne sais pas comment tu fais...).
Une fois de plus, bravo Peter, un petit morceau de campagne au coeur de la ville.

Ruth said...

Stunningly brilliant! Even roses already! I am always impressed by the garden designers in Paris - they change their annual plantings, and the color combinations are so nice. Very nice statues too. I didn't get very far in this garden, but I enjoyed lunch there.

Cergie said...

Tu ne pouvais tout dire mais c'est pas mal pour introduire le sujet, félicitation tu t'en es bien tiré et tu promets d'autres messages.
C'est un lieu incontournable que ce soit dans le quotidien des parisiens ou pour des visiteurs. J'y ai même emmené un jeune ami autichien (de Haute Autriche) découvrir le jardin alpin, c'est tout dire !

GMG said...

Hi Peter!
It seems you had a party this week! Happy (belated) Birthday!!

The first time I was at the Jardin was in 1969; before taking the Sud-Express at Austerlizt, at the end of my two month hitch-hike tour Lisbon-Stockholm... It didn't look so nice! Great pictures!
Paloma's collage is wonderful, of course! And the «Marché aux Puces» was in deep need of a post like yours! Géniale!!

Have a great weekend! I’m going to be busy at the Music Fest (Bach’s legacy… ;))
Blogtrotter

Thérèse said...

La fraicheur à Paris par les yeux.
J'ai même repéré une amusante variété de tulipes, mes préférées.
Bon week-end!

Nathalie H.D. said...

Magnifique !
Tes images de printemps sont un enchantement. Bon week-end Peter !

Nathalie H.D. said...

Et bon anniversaire à retardement, puisqu'apparemment j'ai raté le grand événement. J'imagine que le champagne a coulé à flots !?!!!

Virginia said...

Merci Peter for including this wonderful garden that will be close to our apartment in less than one month now!! It is nice to see what we have to look forward to. You captured it beautifully as always.
Soon!
V

Unknown said...

...Et vive le printemps (not the galleries!)! :-) Wonderful colourful shots!

Once you enjoyed 'The constant gardener' you can not miss 'City of God', it's Fernando Meirelles' first 'big' movie and it's fantastic!

By the way, Léia will surely be writing something in portuguese soon! :-)))

Karen said...

I agree with Jill. How will I ever see it all in a month? This beautiful garden and the buildings will take a month to properly enjoy.
Virginia, how nice that you will be in this area.. I'm still looking for that "perfect" apartment for October.

Coltrane_lives said...

What a great place to spend a day or two or three...lol. Definitely a place to stop on my next visit to Paris. Bon weekend!

Alain said...

J'espère que les serres seront bientôt réouvertes, quand j'ai quitté Paris elles étaient en travaux depuis des années.
Beaucoup de couleurs mais peu d'harmonies sur le parterre de l'entrée. Les bon jardiniers ne sont pas toujours de bon paysagistes.

Jilly said...

how fabulous. I'd love to visit. Peter, is this Courson? I know there are two famous plant fairs each year but can't remember if Courson is 'in' Paris or not.

Shammickite said...

How beautiful!
I want to come to see Paris in the spring!
The spring here in Canada is reluctant, but will be arriving soon. It was warm and sunny yesterday and will be even warmer today, so perhaps my sunshiney daffodils will open their pretty flowers for me.
Very busy.... big dress rehearsal for our Variety Show tomorrow... then on stage next week!

Rob said...

A lovely city, beautiful architecture and beautiful gardens. Impressive to view this tree planted so long ago.

Cuckoo said...

Magnifique !

I wish I was there during spring but nonetheless we can always see it thru your eyes.

It's amazing to have such a big place inside this crowded city.

Thanks for those colorful photos.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi peter,
How are you doing, I love to see all the beauty of the garden in Paris!!! Very nice also how you showed it here, I am missing all the bloggers and yours, since my PC crashed I am posting once a week fresh photo's now...

Please, visit my blog to see the 1th out of a serie from photo's, I am going to show on a exibition , wich is coming soon:)

JoAnn/Holland

Cutie said...

The flowers are beautiful. It will be so nice to have picnic at the gardens surrounded by beautiful flowers. Really lucky you to be living in such a nice place.

Mona said...

WOW! Those are fantastic sights of spring!

I LOVE the picture of the Duck followed by those tiny duckling!

Anonymous said...

April in Paris, a fantastic time to go for a visit. I just got back from a trip, my very first, and I will go back in fall.

PeterParis said...

James:
April in Paris! :-)

Léia:
Sweet dreams! :-)

Abe:
... not that pretty overseas? :-)

PeterParis said...

Paris Breakfasts:
Yes! No! :-)

Krystyna:
Hugs to you also! :-)

SparkleMirror:
So, when you will visit paris, maybe in April? :-)

PeterParis said...

Shionge:
No problem with a bottle of wine! Champagne? :-)

Dakota Bear:
Thanks! :-)

Peter (the other):
Happy to see you here again! Soon back in Paris? You are well informed! :-)

PeterParis said...

Jill:
It's a nice time of the year and wae had some fantastic days! :-)

Alice:
Je parlera du zoo binetôt! Ils ont démenagé les grandes bêtes. Ils refont... Ce n'est pas mal! :-)

hpy:
Je ne suis pas sur d'avoir le courage de parler des musées! Peut-être un jour! J'attends le mauvais temps! :-)

PeterParis said...

Vamsee:
I believe that April or end September, early October are the best months! :-)

Olivier:
Si tu n'arrives pas de rentrer la photo, tu connais l'adresse! :-)

Rakesh:
Sincere thanks! :-)

PeterParis said...

Claude:
Je suis content de "make your day"! :-)

Matritensis:
I had to look it up on Google! A Tasmanian tiger! :-)

Adam:
It seems that they are still closed ... and for a while. For the museum(s), maybe one day! :-)

PeterParis said...

SusuPetal:
Sorry that you chose to live in the "wrong" country! I mean spring wise! :-)

Delphine:
Maybe I will hear from you when you finally decide to come? :-)

Eddy:
I use PowerPoint. :-)

PeterParis said...

Ruth:
A picnic lunch? :-)

Cergie:
Le jardin est bien plat! :-)

GMG:
I have a feeling that the Paris parks have improved a lot the last decades! :-)

PeterParis said...

Thérèse:
Tu te connais en tulipes! :-)

Nathalie:
C'est vrai que nous avons une petite faiblesse pour le champagne dans notre famille! :-)

Virginia:
Realively close, but I'm sure you granddaughter would also enjoy, including the little zoo! :-)

PeterParis said...

JM:
Yes, thanks for the cinema tip! :-)

Karen:
October should offer less flower, but nice colours! :-)

Coltrane_lives:
I guess you must leave during the night! No hotel inside the garden! :-)

PeterParis said...

Alain:
Pour les couleurs... peut-être pas ici, mais en général je trouve que les jardiniers font du bon travail! :-)

Jilly:
Pour Courson, il faut attendre le 15 mai! :-)

Shallickite:
Good show! :-)

PeterParis said...

Dusty Lens:
Yes, I was also impressed by the tree (although it's no the oldest in Paris)! :-)

Cuckoo:
My photos can never replace a real visit! :-)

JoAnn:
Don't worry, I will check your blog! :-)

PeterParis said...

Cutie:
To have a picnic there, with dishes prepared by you! That would be something! :-)

Mona:
Indeed, it's charming! :-)

Anonymous:
As I already said above, I think April or late September early October are the best moments here! :-)

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

just wondering how you get your photos to look like these..all soft on the edges?

yoko said...

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful....photo!!!

Marie Reed said...

Does your Granddaughter live in Paris too or was she just visiting over vacation? :)

PeterParis said...

Anne:
First, Im' happy your enjoyed your Paris visit! :-)

For the photos, I use MS PowerPoint.

Yoko:
Thanks a lot! :-)

Marie Reed:
She lives in Paris, with her younger brother (and parents of course)! :-)

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