Thursday, March 8, 2018

Le Jardin des Plantes — in Paris of course!

Americans traveling to Europe are told to acclimate by not sleeping when your body thinks you should, but instead immediately adhere to the local time. We left Portland at 10:30 am on Tuesday January 16th. When we touched down in Paris it was 6:30 am on Wednesday the 17th. You can see the problem, somewhere in there we were supposed to have not noticed that we missed an entire night's sleep. About the time Andrew and I really wanted to be crawling into bed we instead walked the mile or so to the Jardin des Plantes...

Of course that meant I didn't see this garden the same way I might have after a full night's sleep, but with a limited number of days on the ground sacrifices had to be made.

This vignette right inside the gate was a nice welcome.

Drimys winteri

The precision of the pruning was truly mind-boggling.

Araucaria araucana, for some reason unexpected.

This tree is certainly given a lot of real estate, turns out it's a Japanese flowering cherry. Not my first choice for a "special" tree.

That's more like it, Eriobotrya japonica, aka the Loquat. I needed to figure out how to get on the other side of the fence!

And I did! Things are a little less formal and a little more "planty" over here.

Cestrum parqui (aka Chilean Jasmine, Willow-Leaved Jasmine, Green Cestrum)

This segmented pond thing was repeated over and over. I absolutely love it.

Garrya elliptica

Tetrapanax papyrifer

Trying to bloom, just like back at home.

Google translate says: "DANGER Deep pools. You are required to stay at the edge of pools. If ice formation is absolutely forbidden to walk there. Risk of rupture"

Well they don't look all that deep...

Arbutus unedo (aka the strawberry tree)...

Getting ever closer to those dramatic glass houses...

It was quite chilly outside. The promise of warmth was calling. Loudly.

Melianthus, of course.

Gingers, looking quite regal in their demise.

Beschorneria yuccoides

Acacia dealbata, I presume?

And now, time to enter the glass houses...

So warm!

I could really curl up here and take a long nap.

My sign photography says Le Palmier Bambou (Rhapis excelsa).

But I don't think that's right.

Hoffmannia ghiesbreghtii

I think I'm in love.

And Bromeliads growing on the branches of a tree, that's pretty much my dream garden right there...

Attention. We are no longer in the USA. It is assumed that people have the emotional and physical wherewithal to cross something like this with out breaking their neck and suing. How refreshing.

Blechnum brasiliense

Angiopteris lygodiifolia

Palmier queue-de-poisson (Caryota mitis)

I almost missed the desert addition, can you imagine? Oh the horror!

Agave tequilana, which I could have sworn I saw growing outside, in the garden. In fact when emailing with Gerhard (Succulents And More) later I told him I'd seen it growing outdoors. Jet-lag can play with one's mind.

Back outside and ready to admit we were pretty much the walking dead. It was all we could do to think of making it back to the hotel, showering and getting a bit to eat before crashing, head first, into our pillows.

Heading out of the garden I looked down on what had to be the Alpine Garden. A little bit of my heart broke because I didn't have the energy to go check it out. As luck would have it I later found out the Alpine Garden was closed when we were there. Oh thank god! My exhaustion didn't cost me a visit.

Weather Diary, March 7: Hi 59, Low 34/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden — The Danger Garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

17 comments:

  1. I hate that jet lag seriously tries to rob us of a day. What a good fight you put up! And I'll comment here that I really appreciated the trade show report of a few days' back too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed, and yes, one must fight the good fight!

      Delete
  2. So glad you toughed it out to bring us this report. It's been a long time since I've been to England, but I surely do remember that flying-over-the-Atlantic jet lag. It's no fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Loree! What a spectacular post! I can’t wait to visit in person. I’m quite stunned by some of the plants that were happily ignoring the fact that it was winter when you were there (melianthus, acacia, tetrapanax...); I thought Paris was much colder than Portland. And oh! those glass houses!!! Stunning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, from what I read, we're typically quite similar in weather. Except Paris is usually drier, not this year! That Acacia really through me though, one might live a few years here — but that one was a full on tree!

      Delete
  4. Bravo for you to get out first thing, hit the ground running so to speak. I always think the flight back made me more jet lagged than the flight out. I guess because I was so wound up I could go go go then on the way home it all catches up to you. I am so enjoying your posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True that with the flight out you've got excitement on your side, whereas with the flight home it's all over.

      Delete
  5. Looks like a rather nice way to begin your time on the ground in Paris even if you were dog tired. So glad you didn't miss the desert part!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They did their best to hide it from me, but I found it!

      Delete
  6. So, like me, you aren't able to sleep on a long plane ride? It's too bad you weren't as fresh as you'd like to have been but you certainly picked up on a lot of what was around you. Thank god for cameras that allow you to retrace your steps with fresher eyes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If the timing is right then yes, I can sleep...with the help of a sleeping pill. But we left Portland at about 9am, and so arrived about 9pm. There was really no sleeping...

      Delete
  7. Jet lag is the worst feeling. It makes me feel positively ill. You did well to soldier on...looks like a fine, gentle way to start your visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Coming home I did succumb to actual illness, and I'm still coughing!

      Delete
  8. Don't know whether the inside or the outside was the more spectacular.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We stayed at a hotel very near the Jardin des Plantes and walked through it several times, but never went into the conservatory. Great photos.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!